


The Champion's Cup

by sunnyskipper



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen, Pokemon!AU, SBI Family Dynamic, They/Them Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Tubbo and Nihachu are siblings, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:55:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27971186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnyskipper/pseuds/sunnyskipper
Summary: Young sixteen-year-old Tommy lives in the Galar region, the location of the famous yearly Champion Cup. Even before he got his first Pokemon at ten years old, he always dreamed of becoming the region's adored Champion, until his older brother Techno stole that title. But this year, he's planning on taking it back.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 75





	1. Brand New World

**Author's Note:**

> This concept doesn't belong to me, I got permission from @just.panicking / on instagram to make a fic out of their au! So, go check them out!

Tommy has always adored Pokemon, I mean, who doesn't? They're strong and powerful, while there are others leaning more on the cute and cuddly side, he believed that no matter the Pokemon, if you train hard enough it could take you to victory. His Father, Phil was once the Champion, and Tommy, along with his two brothers always looked up to him. 'One day,' he thought, he was going to take on his own father and become the crowned Champion.

Though, he didn't grow up quick enough for that day to come. This mysterious trainer who went by "Dream" came out of nowhere one day, and stole the title from him. Phil had been caught off guard, but accepted his loss and handed over the title as Galar's Champion, and was reduced to a simple flying type Gym leader, which he didn't seem to mind. It was a lot easier to manage, than being a full time Champion always in the spot light, with hundreds of fans cheering you on. Tommy, who had just turned seven at the time and watched the whole thing happen live at the stadium, wanted to fight against Dream for stealing away his long-awaited chance at defeating his pops in an epic battle and claiming his position. Though he hadn't even gotten his own Pokemon yet, but in the next three years he would. But that wasn't soon enough.

When Phil approached him after the match, escaping the crowd of reporters asking a billion questions, he kneeled down in front of his frustrated son, who complained that it wasn't fair, and he told him that he needn't worry. He might have lost against this mysterious trainer who to Tommy, didn't deserve the title, but he quieted his voice so that only he could hear, and he told him ─ that he'll be counting on him to steal back the title, and he'll be watching, cheering him on from the crowd.

Wilbur had became the Ghost type gym leader after attempting to win the Champion cup four years later at age nineteen, and didn't make it through in the end. He discovered that becoming the Champion wasn't for him, so he settled on becoming a Gym leader instead. Tommy assumed his other older brother, Techno would follow in his footsteps, or maybe become a Pokemon Professor or researcher instead, he wasn't quite sure what his goals in life was.

Tommy knew what he wanted, though, to become Champion. His first starter was a Toxel, it was so cute, kind of like a baby, but he knew how powerful and cool it'd grow up to be, and he couldn't wait to train by its side. On the day he received Toxel, he befriended a boy his age, named Tubbo, who shortly moved into the only other house in his town, Postwick, and they became rivals.

Some time later, Techno went off on his own journey, saying goodbye to his family, although he wasn't leaving the region it was long and vast. He'd be gone for possibly weeks at a time. His send-off inspired Tommy to train even harder, doing so every day alongside Tubbo and his Toxel. He had his first Pokemon, now all he needed was to train and power up, and catch a team of his own. It got to the point where Phil told him to slow down a bit, take his time, and that there was no rush. And although there wasn't a time limit, he couldn't wait to challenge Dream and defeat him in front of a stadium full of people, who'd all be cheering his name. "Tommy, Tommy, Tommy!"

But that reality came crashing down when one day, he flicked on the television and they were introducing the challengers for that year's Champion Cup. The most shocking part was when Techno was suddenly on camera, on live television, being introduced as one of the challengers. Which meant, he planned on going up against Dream and claiming the Champion title. And from that moment, Tommy already knew how it'd end.

And he got it right, he couldn't stand to watch the final match. Wilbur and Phil weren't at home, due to being gym leaders they were both at the tournament, while he was over at Tubbo's house so he wouldn't be left home alone. Tubbo waited eagerly for the victor to be declared, as Techno and Dream fought it out. But Tommy, he wanted to look away, stare at anything else in the room and block out the sound, but he couldn't. He could only watch as his older brother made the final move, and the battle came to an end at long last.

"Dream has lost! Challenger Techno is the new Champion!"

His dreams had been crushed, just like that, by his own brother. When his brothers and father returned home that evening, he didn't want a word with any of them. He bumped into Techno on his way to his room, ignoring everyone's greetings, he glared at him before shoving him out of his way and ran up into his room. He had only been eleven that day, and if only Phil had let him join the Champion Cup that year, maybe things would have been different. No, who was he kidding, he didn't stand a chance against Techno... not with his current team.

He needed to get stronger.

Of course, Wilbur and Phil were both proud of Techno, whereas Tommy began actively avoiding him. Which wasn't that difficult, after becoming Champion Techno rarely returned home, even when the Champion Cup wasn't on, he had too many "duties" as Champion to attend to, that he just didn't have time to spend with his family. Wilbur and Phil were both incredibly busy with dueling challengers and managing their gyms whilst the Champion Cup was on, but afterwards, they were free until the next one started at the beginning of the following year.

Two gym leaders, and one Champion, he was the only one without a title to his name. Because of this, or maybe some other reason, his family started to "baby" him. Just because he hadn't become a gym leader ( which he didn't want ), didn't mean he wasn't as strong as them. He would always challenge any of them to a fight, especially Techno whenever he got the chance to meet him. However, no matter how confident he was, he'd always end up losing in the end, and it frustrated him. It frustrated him so, so much, that he was being left behind. He was the youngest, but it didn't mean he had to be the weakest, or at least, they didn't have to treat him like he was. He wanted to prove them all wrong, that he really had something to show for with all his non-stop training. Which got to the point where he'd exhaust himself, and Phil would tell him to slow down, but of course, he didn't listen.

It only made things worse when Tubbo was elected the Bug type gym leader. He always knew Tubbo didn't want to become Champion, instead, he was much happier settling for the gym leader position, still someone quite strong and admired. Becoming a Gym leader did take some time out of their usual hangout, but they'd make up for it, with Tubbo letting Tommy come over to his gym and they'd train together, whether that'd be battling each other or other methods. When Tubbo was busy, he'd do the same with Wilbur, although it was a lot harder, it helped because sometimes Tubbo would go too easy on him. He'd really gotten stronger since becoming a Gym leader.

At long last, at age sixteen, the same age as Techno was when he participated, the Champion Cup was coming up, and he planned on entering. However, when he told Phil the news, he didn't get quite the reaction he was expecting. Maybe it was because he didn't want Techno to step down from Champion yet, but at the same time, Tommy could hear the hesitance in his voice as he spoke. "Maybe next year... I think you still have a bit more training to do before thinking about taking on the big league."

His argument made no sense, and frankly, Tommy was sick of everyone constantly babying him. The tournament was in two days... so, he needed to make a decision. Who knows when someone might come along and steal away his chance at wiping that smug grin off his brother's face, and finally proving his family wrong. So he made his final decision, running away from home.

He could imagine the looks on Phil's and Wilbur's faces when they found him missing. Though he hadn't gone far, heading to Tubbo's gym and informing him of his plan, he helped him write his name and enter the tournament, under the name "Tommyinnit". Now all they had to do, was wait one more day until the tournament, and it couldn't have come any sooner.

Phil and Wilbur attended the ceremony, welcoming the challengers like every other year before. Phil had admittedly started spacing out a bit, unable to properly focus with his mind on where Tommy could be. He knew the boy was frustrated with him, but he didn't expect he'd just run off like that, and to who-knows where. He could only assume that he went off on his own journey, but he could have told someone beforehand and the timing didn't sit right with him.

"Phil, look!" Wilbur's loud voice startled him out of his thoughts, cracking one eye open to glance at his son, who stared wide-eyed ahead of him. Opening both eyes, he looked in front of him, and almost couldn't believe what he saw.

"Tommy!" His Emolga clinging onto his right arm tucked behind his back and climbed onto his shoulder shared the same shocked, and relieved reaction. There, at the entrance of the stadium stood Tommy, just close enough for him to make out his familiar figure. Attached to the boy's back was his starter Pokemon, Toxel, hiding almost.

"And finally!" The announcer, whom Phil had been somewhat unaware of before called out, and the realization startled to settle in. He hadn't gotten that much sleep last night, and he could blame that on not knowing Tommy's whereabouts, so his mind was processing a little slower than usual.

"Tommy?" He cracked a sheepish smile, his Emolga ducking behind his back and poking its head out.

"Challenger 22!" The announcer called out. Toxel poked its head out, curiously looking around as Tommy stopped in his tracks, pulling down his jacket to reveal the uniform required to be worn by all gym challengers, with the number "22" written on the front. The crowd went wild, excited to see what this year's challengers have up their sleeves. Whereas both Phil and Wilbur were left in shock at the revelation, Tommy had entered the tournament.

"No..." he stood back in disbelief, slightly narrowing his eyes as Emolga leaped off his shoulder and floated mid-air with its wings, tilting its head in curiosity.

"Tommyinnit!" The announcer finished introducing the final challenger, none other than Tommy. A wide, smug grin crossed his mouth as he slipped off his jacket and held it up in one hand, looking to the crowd. The shy Toxel wore a similar expression, sticking its tongue out and holding onto Tommy with one hand, raised the other, as if waving to the crowd. As Tommy looked around, he searched for Tubbo standing amongst the Gym leaders, but better yet, his eyes landed on his brother's and father's shocked reactions, his grin growing even wider.

Oh, this was going to be good.


	2. Have Faith In Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His quest to become Galar's next Champion has finally begun, and nothing can get in his way now. Or, so he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm b a c k
> 
> The idea of a pokemon au and the family dynamic, along with tubbo, phil's and wilbur's teams goes to just.panicking on instagram / but everything else happening within the story is my idea ^^

Tommy adored every part of this, as he entered the stadium, although people weren't screaming his name in victory just yet, they were cheering for him, and he wouldn't let them down. Challengers need the audience on their side, cheering for them as they're up against a gym leader, they need their support. And he knows exactly how to do that. When he saw the look on Phil's and Wilbur's face, he grinned from ear-to-ear.

All the gym leaders were there, in order after Tubbo, who specializes in bug types at Turffield was; Sapnap at age nineteen, who adores his fire types, he wanted to open up his own dojo to teach "future Champions", as he referred to trainers of all ages, believeing that anyone has what it takes. 

When Dream had been Champion, while he purposely avoided being the centre of attention and whenever he did appear in public, even when he was a challenger participating in the Champion Cup, he wore a white mask with a smiley face that covered his entire face, it's noted that he was quite close to Sapnap and the current Pokemon Professor, George. 

Actually, since Techno took him down and gained the nickname "the blade" due to how he ruthlessly took down his opponents, Dream hadn't been spotted since. It'd been five years since then, the two of them were sixteen, and Tommy was only eleven at the time. There have been many speculations as to where Dream might have gone off to, somewhere far, possibly to a different region to train and one day, return to take back his title. Those theories made Tommy somewhat nervous, afraid that he'd appear as one of the challengers but thankfully, it seems he hasn't come out of hiding just yet. When he does choose to return, it'll be Tommy he'll have to face off against.

Next up taking the third place is his own father, Phil, residing in Motostoke and followed up by Wilbur in Stow-on-side who's had his title for five years now. In fifth place is Niki, also known as Tubbo's older sister and a close friend of Wilbur, she specializes in Fairy type Pokemon. Tommy has interacted with her a few times, having known Tubbo for years, she's a nice, kind girl but a powerful Gym leader not to be underestimated.

Karl ranks sixth in strength with his Psychic types, a humble fellow, but he earned his position and its well deserved. Corpse takes the seventh spot, his real name unknown, he wears a strange mask that covers a large portion of his face, only leaving his left eye visible, he specializes in Dark types. Fitting. He's quite intimidating, honestly, but Tommy anticipates their battle and his chance to meet him. 

Lastly is the Steel type gym leader, Eret, and they're the sole reason barely anyone has gone up against Techno in the past five years. After defeating the last Gym Leader, remaining challengers have to battle each other and whoever remains is the one who gets to battle the Champion. If Tommy recalls correctly, there'd been a huge decline in the amount of challengers reaching that final stage, Eret had to quite literally go easy on them or else only a couple of people would get by. They're truly a force to be reckoned with, anyone who isn't intimidated in the slightest is an over-confident fool who'll get their dreams crushed and a taste of reality in battle. 

He won't be easy to beat, none of these people will be, but after so, so long of training, he's certain he's prepared. There's the chance that Phil will want to go easy on him, though, and might try to convince Wilbur to do the same. That'll be basically cheating, however, and although the first few Gym leaders don't go all out, because while they're supposed to act as barriers and walls to overcome, if they each gave it their all, it'd be the same case as Eret, hardly anyone would make it through. 

He already told Tubbo not to go easy on him, in fact, to give it his very best and not to hold back in the slightest. They're only a few months apart, and yet Tubbo has already managed to become a full-time Gym leader, and a good one at that, and sure, perhaps if Tommy wanted to become on too, he could. But he doesn't, and Tubbo has gotten so, so far ahead of him he needs to catch up, and fast. 

Because if they go too easy on him, once he reaches everyone else, he could get stuck, and fail even. He's counting on them to support him, even if not directly, but he can already tell by the reactions he received from his older brother and father, that things might not go exactly as he planned. Hey, maybe they'll just scold him for disappearing yesterday, and will happily let him participate in the tournament, he's already entered, after all, and they both know how much this means for him. 

So, here goes nothing, and basically everything.

The welcome went the same as every other year, the Chairman ( Schlatt, otherwise known as ) officially began the tournament, greeting the audience with his secretary, Quackity, and introduced new challengers, along with the Gym leaders ( though they hadn't changed in ages, asides from Tubbo who became one two years ago ). Techno showed up as as well, he was obligated to after all. 

Tommy despised how everyone cheered for him, calling him "Technoblade", and he just smiled and waved. Afterwards, the challengers were told where the inn they'll be staying at is located, and everyone would head there. Before Tommy could follow the crowd leaving the stadium, he was grabbed by his arm. Before turning around he already knew who it was.

"Tommy! I knew you had something up your sleeve!" Phil snapped, but Tommy easily slipped out of his grip and adjusted his jacket. He was hoping they could come to terms on this, but appearently not. Wilbur didn't appear too pleased, either, but clearly not as frustrated as Phil. 

Phil's Emolga jumped off his shoulder and glided, sitting on Tommy's as if to side with him. It always had a habit of doing that, Phil at one point even considered handing over his trusty companion to his boy. Tommy crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, Emolga mimicking his actions, and Phil could only let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"I told you, you aren't ready yet," Phil muttered.

Tommy's face shifted into a mean glare, and Emolga flew off his shoulder, landing on the floor in between them. "I'm not ready?" Tommy echoed, uncrossing his arms. Phil lifted his head to look at him, and the seriousness of his expression caught Tommy off guard, and he stumbled back, but kept his ground as his glare returned. 

"That's what I said," Phil murmured, his tone sounding slightly annoyed, it surprised Tommy. Even Wilbur acted a little surprised, but only for a brief moment before changing back to his blank, unreadable stare, but Tommy had the feeling he was siding with Phil. He always did, no matter what, they'd had this conversation before, after all, plenty of times before. So why did he think things would change. 

There seemed to be no point in continuing the conversation. "Well," Tommy mumbled, dropping his gaze to his feet. He balled his hands into fists, "I don't need your permission, I've already entered as you saw. I'm a part of the tournament now, and there's nothing you can do about it," he said, taking a step closer, standing so close Phil had to take a step back. 

He very well can do something about it, he's his father and a gym leader, so he could simply request for his name to be taken out, and that's it. Tommy wouldn't be able to do anything about it, but doing that would be crossing a dangerous line. His partner Toxel, from what he could tell backed him up with its grunts and sounds that it made, staring directly at Phil, who could only raise a confused brow. 

Wilbur chose to step in, unsurprisingly. "Tommy─" but he would much rather not have it. 

Instead of staying to listen to their ridiculous arguments and decison that they chose best for him, he pushed past them and wanted to leave. Technoblade and most of the other gym leaders had already left, so he had no reason to stay. Though, his eyes glided past Tubbo and it immediately uplifted his mood, but Tubbo was busy talking with his older sister, Niki. Tommy turned away without saying a word. 

"Tommy! Why won't you listen to me?" Phil asked, and outreached his hand to grab onto his son, but Toxel still sitting on Tommy's shoulder snapped at him, forcing him to yank his hand back unless he wanted to lose it. 

Tommy walked out of the stadium, the other challengers long gone. He glanced over his shoulder at his father and older brother, glaring, before turning away and shoving his hands into his pockets and soon enough leaving their sight. 

As soon as he was gone, Phil felt drained. Wilbur stood by his side, a hand on his shoulder, Phil rubbed his temple and sighed. "That boy... why won't he just sit still and listen to me for once?" He asked, slightly raising his voice at the end. 

Wilbur petted Emolga sitting on Phil's shoulder, and it climbed up on his arm and on top of his head. He took out a few berries from his pocket and fed it to it. "Well, he just wants to go on his own Pokemon adventure," he commented nonchalantly, appearing more focused on the Pokemon than their conversation.

Phil sighed and shook his head, his expression softening as he turned to Wilbur, and a slight smile curved the corner of his mouth. When he walked over, Emolga flew back onto his shoulder carrying the berry it was eating, and he scratched under its chin, receiving a small electric shock that ran up his finger. "Yes, but... he can do that, but does he have to take on the Champion Cup?" He asked softly, a small frown appearing on his face.

Wilbur thought to himself for a few moments, before shrugging his shoulders. "It's been five years since Techno became Champion, I think he's had the title for long enough," he commented, but Phil gave him a sour look and he threw his hands up in defense. "Alright, alright, I'll go check up on the little Impidimp," he said, mumbling the last part under his breath, he shortly exited the building, leaving Phil by himself with his Emolga, and Niki and Tubbo still chatting at the other end of the stadium.

He scratched under Emolga's chin, his frown deepening. "He still loves me, right?" He asked just above a whisper, but his Emolga didn't answer, it'd finish it's berry and climbed down his body, attempting to stick its head into one of his jacket pockets in search for more. He chuckled, taking some berries out of his other pocket, and handed it to the Pokemon. "At least you love me." 

"Stupid Dad," Tommy grumbled, kicking a pebble at his feet. Toxel made a grunt-like noise in agreement, raising a tiny arm and almost falling off his shoulder. Luckily he caught it, and placed it back on top his shoulder, softening his voice and quietly telling it to be careful. He was leaving Motostoke, and choosing to take the train back to Postwick, where there were only two houses, his and Tubbo's. No one else would be there, just him, and his Pokemon. Tubbo has to get ready for the trainers that'll start arriving tomorrow morning, his gym is the first. 

Tommy should be staying at the inn like every other challenger, and perhaps he'll give it a visit, but he'd rather return home for now. He doesn't have to sleep there, but he probably won't return for a while. It'll be empty for a large portion of time, once trainers reach Wilbur's and Phil's gym, who knows how long they'll be there for, battling each and every one of them. There's going to be at least a hundred, all hoping to make it to the end goal and win against the Champion, though you'd think most people would know how unachievable and impossible that goal is. Tommy will make it, he's sure of it, he's going to be that one in a million, the only one who will be able to fight, and win against Techno. He's his older brother, so obviously he has to be the one to do it, before someone else rudely snatches the opportunity away. It's his fight.

He almost fell asleep on the train ride, leaning his head against the glass, staring out the window as they rode over the wild area. He'd been there so much over the years, gathering such strong Pokemon and training them, although he had to be rescued a few times by Wilbur, Tubbo and Techno ( before he became Champion ) because he had the habit of biting off too much than he can chew. There were just some battles he couldn't win with his current team, but he's ready now.

With that in mind, he only has five Pokemon on his team. In his hand, he held his last Pokeball. He'd been waiting for the right Pokemon to catch, he didn't exactly have a specific type to his team, just whoever he deemed... well, worthy of being on his team, whoever he was confident or excited about training. There were a few candidates he'd previously come across, but they were all too powerful and he had to either run away, or someone would come rescue him. 

That one last Pokemon, wherever it is, he'll find it. 

When the train stopped at Wedgehurst, the small town not far from Postwick, he changed his mind on returning home, which was only a few minutes away on foot. Instead, he wanted to venture into the wild area and find his final team member, and then he'll be ready to take on anything. 

On second thought, however, taking in consideration of all the strong, intimidating Pokemon that could easily one-KO him, and all those embarrassing and heart-racing times when a wild Pokemon ( whether he planned on capturing it or not ) suddenly chased after him and he saw his life flash before his eyes, he went with a different solution. 

There was this small forest, or whatever it was, right beside his house. He hadn't actually ventured into it before, it was called the "Slumbering Weald" for some reason, and it was quite mystifying. Wilbur had gone down there once with Techno while they were around his age, a little younger, and to this day neither of them dare to return there. They wouldn't elaborate on why, just that there was a lot of fog and they lost each other at some point, then they both describe encountering a scary Pokemon they didn't recognize. When they tried to attack them, their hits regardless of type would seemingly just phase through the Pokemon and did nothing. They tried everything, and somehow, ended up blacking out, and that's when Phil grew worried and chose to run in after them and found them when they just regained consciousness. 

So, going in there on his own probably wasn't the best idea in retrospect, but he already stood outside the entrance, a small gate the only thing keeping him back. Toxel looked at Tommy, then at the path blocked off by the gate and let out a gruntled noise, it seemed scared. 

Tommy might have been a little nervous himself, too. Who knows what lurks inside the forest, surrounded by a heavy misty fog, likely nothing good. There's no telling what he'll find, but by chance, maybe a new powerful team mate. At least, that's the best option, but if a similar thing that happened to Wilbur and Techno also happens to him, only his Pokemon have his back. 

After thinking it over in his head, considering all the possibilities, he pushed open the gate and walked through it. His chest tight, he doesn't scared easily, but his feet refuse to budge. His Pokemon tilts its head at him, puzzled, and almost concerned as it emits a quiet cry that breaks Tommy out of his thoughts. He looks at his Toxel, and sighs, closing the gate behind him he turned around and rubbed his Toxel's head to soothen it. 

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Static," he assured, but when he turned his head and realized he'd entered the dark forest, his heart stopped. He gulped, and reluctantly continued, venturing into the forest. "Stay close to me," he whispered, bringing a hand up to pet and soothen his Toxel. His eyes were wide, constantly checking around him. There was a slight fog, not as heavy as he assumed, thankfully, he could still see.

There were a few wild Pokemon he could spot, a Weezing, Corviknight... not quite what he was looking for. He hesitantly devled deeper into the forest, and as he did, the fog grew thicker, and became harder to see through. When he noticed, he tried turning back, but realized he'd already been enveloped by the heavy fog, and could barely see a thing, not even his own hand in front of his face.

Understandably, he began to panic, and his Pokemon did, too. "Shh, shh, it's okay, we just... need to find which direction we came from," he whispered, moving a hand out in front of it, which it grabbed onto and leaned into his touch. He attempted to swallow his fears, but they climbed back up. It was getting harder, and harder to see, there's no way he'll be able to find where they came from if he can't even tell which direction he's facing. 

He slowly turned around, think, what is he supposed to do in this situation? He could send out a Pokemon and attempt to clear the fog, but he doesn't have any that are winged. He needs to come up with something, and fast, he's vulnerable to any wild Pokemon attacks. 

When he paid attention to his surroundings again, as his Toxel made a distressed noise, he saw a silhouette directly in front of him, but he couldn't tell how close it was. His breath hitched, and he stumbled back. His Toxel clung to him, making more distressed sounds and asking to be comforted.

Tommy stared at the strange silhouette, he couldn't tell what Pokemon it was. He took out a Pokeball, and readied it in his hand. On the other hand, his thoughts were screaming at him to retreat, get out of there. It's likely a strong Pokemon, but could it be the one that Wilbur and Techno encountered? If so, 

He really needs to get out of there.

A sudden strike of lightning and thunder struck, followed by unexpected rainfall. A startled cry got lodged in his throat as he tried moving back, but his limbs had gone stiff. The Pokemon he saw as a silhouette came charging at him, and he couldn't do a thing, not even close his eyes and embrace for the worst. 

Despite the fog, when the Pokemon flew towards him and crashed into his chest, he could see it clearly. It confused him immensely, he regained feeling in his limbs and held the surprisingly small Pokemon to his chest. It was even smaller than Toxel, with a round head that comes to a point that sticks upward in the back and resembles the shape of an onion. It had large baby-blue eyes, with thick black rings around them, and a pair of green antennae that are tipped blue. It looked up at him with its large eyes, and blinked curiously. "Celi...?"

Tommy had never seen anything like it before, how had such a teeny-tiny Pokemon cause such a large, and frightening silhouette? He never had anything to fear in the first place. Holding it up, it had rround toeless feet, three-fingered hands and translucent wings on its back, making him assume it had to be a Fairy Pokemon. "Data not found," read his Pokedex, "Pokemon not in database." 

That's strange, it's the latest updated model, and yet, it doesn't know what this Pokemon is. "What are you?"

He didn't have much time to gawk, hearing the loud cries of Pokemon, he lifted his head and to his horror, as the fog faded away, two Pokemon came charging at him; a Weezing and a Corviknight. He let out a startled shout, throwing out the Pokeball in his hand, and an Aipom came out. He also sent out a Jolteon. "Gizmo, Sparky, cover me!" He instructed, and they both nodded in response before attacking the opposing Pokemon.

The small Pokemon in Tommy's hand tried to fly away, still holding onto his finger. "Hey, what? It's fine! You're safe now!" he said, expecting it to understand, but it kept tugging at his finger before dropping, and landing in Tommy's hands. It was weak, possibly hurt. He looked back to his Pokemon still battling, hesitating before; "Sparky, thunderbolt!"

A large, almost deafening sound of thunder could be heard from far away as lightning struck their opponents, superpowered by their current weather. Tommy quickly retrieved his Pokemon, sending them back into their Pokeballs and made a run for it before the wild Pokemon could possibly get back up. Coddling the unknown Pokemon close to his chest, Toxel sitting on his shoulder held on for dear life. 

A lot of the fog had disapeared, and he found the path they were on earlier, leading them back to the entrance. Within a matter of minutes he was drenched from head to toe, and as the ground beneath his feet turned to mud, it splashed over his pants and all over his shoes. He didn't have time to complain about it now, but luckily he had changed out of his challenger uniform. 

From the corner of his eye, he saw the silhouette of something... something large, a Pokemon. He kept staring at it until the fog started to clear away, but he only caught a glimpse of it's true appearance until crashing into the muddy ground, he had slipped. Now the front of him was ruined, too, not only his clothes but his hands and chin, as well. 

He begrudgingly got up, careful not to lose his balance and fall back over. "Sorry, bud," he mumbled, sending Toxel back into his Pokeball before it could start crying, probably scared and covered in mud, inside it'd be able to calm down and rest. He scooped up the un-moving small Pokemon, and quickly looked to where he had spotted the unrecognizable Pokemon, which had gone away, and sprinted to the entrance.

He went to the first place he could think of. 

Ranboo hummed to himself as he neatly organized the books on the shelves, an Alolan Vulpix circling around his feet and following his movements as he moved the ladder on wheels. He picked up one book and brushed the dust off the cover, it looked quite old and worn. He squinted his eyes trying to read the words on the cover, "tales from..." but a sudden loud bang caught him off guard, he dropped the book and almost fell off the ladder, clinging onto dear life. 

"Professor, is that you? I was wondering when you'd─" the rest of his words died in his throat. Tommy stood at the door, dripping wet, he was completely soaked from head to toe and the front half of him was covered in mud that dripped onto the just cleaned white flooring. He looked like some kind of swamp monster coming for him, it almost gave him a heart attack. He wheezed, almost choking on his own breath, and jumped down, running to Tommy. "My Arceus, Tommy! Look at you, what happened?! Did, did you purposely jump into a puddle of mud?!" 

He threw his lab coat over Tommy, who was shivering down to the bone. Then he saw it, in his arms, a Pokemon he'd never seen before. So small, he'd sheltered it from as much as he could, it blinked up at him curiously, a few raindrops on its head. 

"What... are you?"


	3. A fated encounter

Tommy had never felt more vile, covered in rain water and mud, he was leaving a messy trail around the lab. Even worse, the mud had started to dry, and he even got some in his hair, he desperately wanted to leave and take a shower at his house, but that would mean venturing out into the rain again, and leaving this... Pokemon with Ranboo. Not that Ranboo was a bad guy or anything of the sort, he's alright from what Tommy can tell, he's been residing with Professor George in the laboratory for a few weeks now. He had this memory loss problem, showed up in Wedgehurst one day coming from the wild area with no memory whatsoever, nor Pokemon, and had just narrowly escaped attacks from Wild Pokemon. He'd seemingly woken up in the middle of the wild area with no recollection of how he got there, and so far he's had no luck on regaining his memories. 

Missing posters have been sent out, but there's been no response yet, but he couldn't have just come out of nowhere one day. He had to have a home somewhere, they just hadn't found it yet. 

"My Pokedex doesn't recognize it, and I'm sure it's the latest model," Tommy said, as Ranboo carefully picked up the strange Pokemon and examined it. It stared back at him, before flying out of his grasp, and flying around a little. He took out his own Pokedex and held it up to the Pokemon, waiting for a response. 

A few seconds later, he received a response; "Pokemon not found in database," the exact same answer Tommy received. 

"Huh," he tilted his head, pressing a few buttons on the device and checking a few things. "You're right, it's the latest model... I don't think it's a Pokemon from Galar," he said, slipping his Pokedex back into his pocket before Tommy could snatch it with his wet, muddy hands and take a look for himself. 

The Pokemon flew around Tommy's head with it's tiny wings, before suddenly losing its strength and falling into his hands. "Seriously? But if it's in Galar, then it has to be," he responded, puzzled, as he played with the Pokemon's antenna, causing it to fly out of his hand. 

Ranboo tried to get a closer look at the Pokemon, but it wouldn't stay still. He hummed, "not exactly, do you know if it's wild?" He asked. Turning away, he sighed at the messy trail Tommy knowingly left behind. "Where are the Professor's Pokemon..." he mumbled to himself, looking around, there were a few Pokemon running around the lab; the Alolan Vulpix, a Pichu, and a Sobble. Though as soon as he made eye contact with the latter, it turned invisible. 

"What do you mean? Of course it's wild," Tommy answered, watching as the nimble Pokemon almost danced in front of him as it flew around, seeming full of energy at one moment, and drained the next, falling into his hand. 

"Well," Ranboo spoke up, as he held out some Pokemon treats in his hand, trying to lure out the shy Sobble. "Try catching it, if it's someone else's, then that'll explain how it ended up in Galar," he suggested. 

Tommy hesitated, turning to Ranboo, but narrowed his eyes when he saw him strangely moving around the lab. He looked back at the Pokemon sitting in his hand, and took out a Pokeball from his pocket. Without thinking, he held it out in front of the Pokemon, who reached out its hand and touched the device, which in return captured it inside. "Ah!" 

Holding the Pokeball in both hands, he watched as it gently moved around in his hands. Once, twice, three... and then it stopped. He'd caught the Pokemon, and that was his last Pokeball. "I caught it!" He wasn't sure how to feel about it, he'd been saving that Pokeball for his last team member, and now he'd unintentionally caught it. This newfound, strange Pokemon has become his final party member. 

"Oh?" Ranboo raised his head in interest, failing to have stumbled across the Pokemon, he went back to Tommy. "Oh, that's... well then, if it doesn't belong to a trainer, then either it wandered here by itself to Galar, or it's an undiscovered Pokemon," he concluded. He spoke so casually, but the news came as a shock to Tommy. 

"A what?!" He raised his voice, at the exact moment the Pokemon jumped out of its Pokeball. It tilted it's head up at him curiously with it's large, baby-doll eyes. "What do you mean it's an undiscovered Pokemon?!"

Ranboo adjusted his goggles, "I said it could be, but that's highly unlikely considering how much of Galar is explored. Though, I suppose... where did you find it?" He asked, turning away, he headed to the ladder and climbing up, looked through the books he had just put away. 

Tommy had to do a double-take, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Uh, the Slumbering Weald," he answered. 

Ranboo paused, and stared at him silently for a few seconds. With his goggles ( which he wears for a few reasons; because of sensitivity to the sunlight, he often attempts to perform experiments that blow up in his face, and they simply look "cool". As to why he wears them indoors when he isn't experimentjng, Tommy doesn't have the faintest clue ) and his mask, ( which he wears only for it to match ) it's difficult to tell what he's thinking. It doesn't help that his voice is sometimes muffled, either. "The what?" 

Tommy furrowed his brows, and lightly scoffed. "The forest near my house, like, directly beside my house. I've never gone in there before, Techno and Wil has as kids, but they're too afraid to ever go back," he explained. As his response was followed by silence, he slowly approached Ranboo, tilting his head as he came closer, and looked up at the large, tall shelves of books he searched through. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a book that can tell me what Pokemon that is," he answered, running his fingers across the spines of the books, he mumbled the names to himself, along with "no, no, no" as he couldn't find the book he seeked. He heavily sighed, his hand falling to his side. "Snowbelle, Pichu," he ordered, and the two Pokemon in question happily came running over and pushed the ladder a little to the left until he said stop. "I'm sure it's here somewhere."

"Do you even know what you're looking for?" Tommy asked, standing right beside the ladder he tilted his head back to look all the way up at Ranboo. The Pokemon he'd just accidentally befriended greeted the other two Pokemon, apparently upholding an actual conversation with them, and the Sobble Ranboo had been looking for popped up right beside them. Though before it could even get a word out, "catch!" A book dropped down, and scared the Sobble back into hiding. 

Tommy failed to catch the book, and it dropped to where the Sobble was just standing. He crouched down and picked it up with some effort, and blew the dust off the cover. It was seemingly old, not nearly as ancient as all the other books packed away, there had to be hundreds at least. It was quite large and heavy, too, he struggled to hold it up close enough to his face to read the title.

"What's this?" He asked, reading the title as Ranboo made his way down the ladder and dropped down besides him, taking the book from his hand before he could properly read it. "I was reading that!"

Ranboo adjusted his goggles, and opened the first page. "It's a book of all the Pokemon in the whole world, well, that we know of at least. I did have a feeling there were still some undiscovered species out there, but I never thought I'd actually find one," he said with audible excitement, carrying the book with ease over to his desk. When he set it down, a few papers flew off the desk, and Tommy tried to catch them. One that he caught had something along the lines of "another day has passed, and I still haven't remembered anything, when I try to I─"

"Hey!" Before he could finish, the page was snatched out of his hand by Ranboo and stuffed into a book placed on the table. 

He cleared his throat, looking away, "that... belongs to my memory book," he said quietly, his hand over the book.

Tommy picked up the rest of the pages, only glimpsing at the words and handed them back to him. "So you still don't remember anything, huh," Tommy said quietly, his eyes gliding over the interior of the laboratory. When Ranboo didn't have anywhere to go, and couldn't afford a place to stay, Phil offered him a temporary place to stay in their home, but in the end he chose to live in the laboratory, simply because he found it fascinating, and George didn't really mind. He even said that he'd help him try to regain his memories, although he understands Pokemon a lot better than people. 

Ranboo held his memory book in his hands, and sighed, shaking his head, he opened a draw and placed it inside. "No," he whispered, "not yet." He looked down at the Alolan Vulpix at his feet, and cracked a smile. Ranboo didn't have any Pokemon on him when he first arrived, but the seemingly wild Vulpix acted like his. Though, when he tried capturing it in a random Pokeball handed to him, it went straight in. 

A few days ago, he'd stumbled across an injured Pichu and after healing it, it chose to stick by his side. He'd yet to come up with a name for it, despite Tommy's great suggestions. 

"Well..." Tommy looked down at the two Pokemon by Ranboo's side, "I'm sure you'll remember something soon," he said, looking up at him with a small smile, and knew it was returned. His smile grew wider and he let out a little chuckle, but it faded when he looked to his new companion, and it fell into his hands. "Hey, can you come take a look at this guy quickly? He seems rather weak."

Ranboo hummed, closing the book he left his desk. He hummed as he examined the Pokemon, before pulling out a small spray bottle out of his pocket. "This should do the trick," he said, and lightly sprayed the Pokemon, "ah! I got some in my eye!" He immediately cried, turning away and running back to his desk. 

"But you have goggles on!" Tommy raised his voice, then mumbled a few lines under his breath. He looked down at the Pokemon, which fluttered open its eyes and slowly stood up, then flew just above his hand. "Hey, you feeling better now?" He asked, a smile on his face, and the Pokemon responded by nuzzling against his cheek. He laughed, "I'll take that as a yes."

The Pokemon happily flew around, making noises and sounds he couldn't understand, but it wore a large smile on its face. When it turned around, it came face-to-face with Ranboo, and let out a frightened screech, flying straight into Tommy's chest. "What, is it okay? What's wrong?" He asked obliviously. 

"You scared it!" 

"M-me?" Ranboo pointed to himself, puzzled. "You're the one who looks like a swamp monster! Look at what I have to clean up now thanks to you! I just washed the floor!" He cried, gesturing to the muddy trail he'd created, and Tommy couldn't argue with that, only look away guilty and caught in the act. Ranboo sighed, massaging his temple. "It's stopped raining, go take a shower at your place or something!"

"But the mud's hardened! I can barely move!" Tommy argued, while that clearly wasn't the case. Though, Ranboo's piercing gaze behind his goggles made him stiffen. He cleared his throat and chuckled sheepishly, looking away with a nervous grin.

"You're lucky the Professor left his Sobble here, now if only I can find it," Ranboo mumbled as he turned away, but Tommy heard him loud and clear. 

"What?! Oh, no, don't you dare Ranboo!" But it'd been too late, as soon as he turned to face the boy, watergun was shot directly at his face, washing the dried mud off of him. He was thankful for that, but he would've preferred not to be left soaking wet again, as if he'd stepped right back into the heavy rainfall. Ranboo couldn't help but stifle a laugh at the amusing sight. 

The flying Pokemon laughed, too, quite literally laughed with its hands over its mouth. Tommy glared at the Sobble, who immediately faded out of sight, only doing what Ranboo requested. Still, he didn't have to do that, and now he's getting cold again, already beginning to shiver. He glared at Ranboo, but he seemingly had no regrets, despite making even more of a mess. 

"Well, unless you volunteer to help me clean up, which you should, I suggest you get going," he said surprisingly chipper, though he did have Sobble on his side to help. Speaking of the Pokemon, it appeared right by his side, like it knew it's assistance was required.

Tommy rolled his eyes, looking back at his new Pokemon, it just seemed so bright and cheery. "Well, I guess this fella's a part of my team now," he said with a smile, reaching out his hand, the Pokemon danced around and he chuckled. Even Ranboo couldn't hold back a smile, though it was hidden, and actually, Tommy had never seen him without his goggles or mask, oddly enough, and he'd known him for weeks. 

He supposes it's not too big of a deal, he could simply ask, but he didn't see the need to. It didn't matter too much. 

Ranboo stood by his desk, and Sobble started using watergun to clean up the mess. Ranboo began wandering the laboratory for a mop to assist, glancing back at Tommy. "If that's what you want. Since we don't know what it is, what are you going to call 'im?" He asked, "are you going to give him a silly nickname like the rest of your party?" 

"Hey! They're not silly!" Tommy argued, as Ranboo stifled back a laugh. He huffed, glaring at the boy, and turned back to his Pokemon. A name, it needed a name... he has to come up with a perfect one, since it'll be permanent. He's named every member of his team, he isn't sure why, but it just... works. "How about... Minuette?" He suggested, and the Pokemon spun around and let out a thrilled cry. 

Ranboo chuckled, "Minuette? What, what does that even mean?" He asked, returning with a mop. 

Tommy shrugged his shoulders, "think it means dance or something," he answered unsurely, chuckling a little. He liked it, it had... a nice ring to it, and the Pokemon seemed pleased with it as well. "Alright, Minuette is it then!" He grinned, resting a hand on top of the Pokemon's head, and it let out another thrilled cry. He whipped his head around when Ranboo snorted, "hey, it's a nice name!" 

Ranboo shook his head, "sure, sure. Are you going to help me clean up, or no?"

Tommy pondeded on it for a moment, shoving his hands into his pockets and kicking his feet. "Nah," he answered, a smug grin tugging at his mouth, but it was quickly erased when the Sobble started shooting water at him again without mercy. "Hey, hey! Cut it out! I'm already drenched! I can't get a cold now, I entered the tournament!"

The Sobble paused at Ranboo's command, and Tommy had to take a few moments to collect himself, and attempt to dry himself with little success. "Wait..." Ranboo trailed off, causing Tommy to look up at him as he came closer. "You really entered the tournament?" He asked with a light chuckle of disbelief at the end of his sentence.

Since the two of them had basically become friends, Tommy of course told him about his plans to participate in the upcoming Champion's Cup, and Ranboo wished him the best of luck. His exact words were; "well, good luck, I might not be in the crowd cheering your name among a thousand other people, but I'll be right here, waiting for the moment you leave them all speechless." And those words had stuck with him ever since. 

He stepped towards him, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah... I, I made it in, challenger twenty-two, Tommyinnit," he said softly, and Ranboo quietly laughed. 

"Tommyinnit? You gave yourself a nickname?" 

Tommy playfully punched him in the shoulder, and they both chuckled. "I'll be going up against Tubbo tomorrow, you'll be watching, right?" He asked, and Ranboo gestured to a modern tv that definitely wasn't there the last time he'd visited, the box was still even there. 

"You bet, wouldn't miss it for the world," Ranboo replied, ruffling up Tommy's hair to his annoyance, getting out the last bits of dried mud, he tried to grab his hands and make him stop. Even his Pokemon, now known as Minuette, attempted to help, only able to grab one of Ranboo's fingers and tried to lift it off Tommy's head. 

Ranboo pulled away, and Tommy decided it was time to return Minuette to its Pokeball, and so it did, holding it out to the Pokemon, and it knowingly touched the Pokeball, and was transported inside of it. He then slipped the Pokeball into his belt, and turned to Ranboo. "I'll... see you soon, then," he said, not knowing when they'll be able to see each other again. The land of Galar is far and wide, it'll take weeks to explore it completely, perhaps even months. The new year has only just begun, and he has a long journey ahead of him.

"Yeah, see you soon." 

Tommy nodded, and slowly, turned away and headed to the door. As he reached it, with his hand on the doorknob, he paused, and stared back at Ranboo who returned his gaze. There was a few moments of peaceful silence between them, as Tommy quietly sighed. "Good luck with the mess!" He then exclaimed with a loud laugh, before hurrying out the door not even a second later.

Ranboo didn't appear to mind, smiling behind his mask, he just shook his head. He looked down at his Vulpix and Pichu by his feet, and picked up the mop. "He's going places, that's for sure," he said, and chuckled under his breath, getting to work. "Come on, let's get this cleaned up before the Professor gets back. I wonder where he is, anyways, I think he said he was meeting up with an old friend... huh, wonder who that could be."

Tommy returned home to finally have a shower, deeming getting watered down by watergun wasn't enough, and got a fresh, clean pair of clothes. He needed to make a good first impression, not to the audience this time, but to the fellow challengers who were all automatically his rivals. They all aimed for the Champion's crown, but he would be the one to tear it down. 

Once he was ready, he took the train from Wedgehurst over the wild area, and to Motostoke where the inn he'd be staying at was located. Upon arriving, he was lightly scolded for not appearing earlier at the designated time, as the challengers were actually escorted to the building, but he had missed out due to staying back a few minutes. No biggie, he received his room key and was ready to to head in for the night. 

"Tommy!" But a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks. He spun around, a wide grin on his face as he laid his eyes upon his best friend;

"Tubbo!" And instantly ran towards him, arms out. He failed to reach him and pull him into a hug like he planned, because he had tripped over his own shoelaces he didn't know were untied. As soon as he hit the floor, he got straight back up, though his face was a little red and sore from the impact. He brushed his shoulders and grumbled to himself, but his smile immediately returned when Tubbo threw his arms around him. 

"You were amazing out there!" He exclaimed, pulling away before Tommy could return the embrace. Through the years, Tubbo had always supported him and encouraged his dreams, even when they seemed unlikely, and he found himself trapped in place, Tubbo took his hand and led him to a bright future; and now here he was, on the path of achieving his long-time dream. 

"Really? You think so?" He gushed, smiling from ear-to-ear. "I-I mean, of course I was! Had to give a good first impression!" He stammered, honestly a little embarrassed as the realization settled in. He had waved to the crowd, and they acknowledged him, they'll be watching his upcoming battle. It's only happening tomorrow, things are moving so fast now, but there's nothing more he can do to prepare himself. It's getting late, too late for him to go out and do an extra bit of training, perhaps he could fit some in tomorrow before the match, to make sure he's actually ready. 

Tomorrow, he'll be going up against Tubbo, and it'll be far different from every other previous battle they've had. He isn't challenging him as a friend, nor even a rival, but as a trainer against a Gym Leader. 

He put his hand on Tubbo's shoulder, and gave him a stern look, but couldn't resist breaking into a slight smile. "Tomorrow, give it everything you've got. Don't hold back, I want to earn that badge! Fair and square like everyone else!" He's sick of everyone going easy on him, as if he's fragile and could break at the slightest touch. It's far from the truth, and they'll forget the weak boy with only one Pokemon by his side and could barely stand his ground. Instead, they'll remember the strong man with a powerful team who'll defeat anyone in his path and will challenge the one and only Champion of Galar, Tommyinnit. 

Tubbo appeared a little caught of guard by his statement, a little hesitant, but smiled and nodded. "I can promise you that, no more going easy on you!"

They both laughed. The lobby was practically empty now, trainers had already gone to bed for the night, they had a big day ahead of them, after all. It was about time he did the same. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he said, removing his hand, he took half a step back. 

Tubbo nodded, "I'll be waiting for you." 

And with that, they went their separate ways for now, and Tommy watched as Tubbo turned his back to him, and exited the building without another word, but spared a second to look back and wave. Tommy waved back and then, he was gone, just like that. 

He let out a small sigh, and realized he'd forgotten to show Tubbo his new Pokemon. Oh well, he'll be able to see it in action tomorrow, so it's not a big deal. He slowly turned away, and headed to the elevator, though as he did so, he happened to lock eyes with a certain boy seemingly around his age. He had short messy blonde hair like his own but a much darker shade, and dark purple eyes that stood out and matched his hoodie. A Bayleef stood by his side, and at second glance he noticed it was actually a shiny. 

"Hey," the boy spoke up, and Tommy slowed to a stop as the boy approached. "You were talking to Tubbo just now, the bug type Gym Leader, are you two friends or something?" He asked, and at first, the question confused Tommy, and he almost asked him why he'd ask such a thing in the first place. But he closed his mouth, and rethought his words. 

"We know each other," he answered bluntly, looking away. However, the boy obviously wasn't convinced, and didn't look too pleased with his remark. 

"Right..." the boy trailed off, and Tommy could almost hear him say "it's not the first time someone tried to befriend a Gym Leader to get ahead" and it made him think, just how much had his and Tubbo's friendship changed ever since he became a Gym Leader? Apart from the obvious of losing time to training. 

Tommy didn't like where this was going, he narrowed his eyes at the unnamed boy whom he barely knew, but already disliked. "Right," he mimicked, his tone coming out bitter and audibly annoyed. "If that's all you have to say, then I'm leaving, I have a battle to prepare for, after all," he scoffed, and turned away, only taking a few steps before he reached the elevator. The doors opened up, and he stepped inside.

"Right, you're going to need it," the boy mumbled, and Tommy had always been known and picked on for his comically short temper. He balled his hands into fists and whirled around to face the boy. 

"What did you say─" but the doors shut before he could get another word out, and he swore he heard the boy chuckle. He scoffed, stomping his foot, he grumbled to himself and crossed his arms. A few seconds later, the doors opened again and he was brought to the second floor where all the rooms were. Hopefully he wouldn't come across another annoying kid, he wasn't too keen on making friends in the first place. 

The halls were empty as he stood out, and he soon came across his room, and unlocked it with the key. Though when he dug into his pockets for it, he accidentally nudged one of his Pokeballs and it came off his belt, and the moment it hit the floor it popped open and out came his new friend, Minuette. "Oh, hey," he greeted, his expression softening, and the Pokemon let out a delighted cry. He smiled and crouched down to pick up its Pokeball, slipping it back into his belt, and pushed open the door. 

He stepped inside with his Pokemon flying alongside him, and upon entering the small room which didn't have much in it, a bed and standard tv, Minuette flew around the room excitedly, letting out thrilled cries. Tommy chuckled, sitting down on his bed he simply watched, until it flew over to his side and sat down beside him, and it was so, so tiny, he could just hold it in his hands. 

He laid back on his bed and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He'd unintentionally sent Minuette flying up when he hit the bed, but it didn't seem to mind, flying around a bit more before sitting down on his chest, stared at him and tilted its head curiously. He extended out a hand to carefully pet its head. "Well, Minuette... we've got a big day ahead of us, are you ready?" 

It made a sound he couldn't understand, but it acted excited from what he could tell, literally smiling. Even so, he figured he would leave it's appearance in the match for last, just in case. He didn't know how strong it was, and he didn't want it getting hurt. 

He stared up at the blank, dark brown ceiling and reached out his hand. "Let's give it our best, then."

The sky outside had darkened, Pokemon were turning in for the night, resting within burrows, nests, or simply out in the open on a comfortable pile of leaves. They had the outside world and forests to themselves, and as the wind grew colder, more Pokemon chose to come out with the moon taking its place in the sky.

Crunches of leaves under his feet gave George's position away as he approached his friend sitting at the ledge of a cliff, legs dangling over the edge as if there wasn't a huge, dangerous drop. 

"There you are," George said between breaths, gripping the strap of his bag he sat down besides his un-masked friend with a heavy heave, running his fingers through his hair. Shuffling away from the edge, he stared up at the beautiful starry night sky, and the melodic sounds of Pokemon filled his ears, almost as if playing a tune he couldn't begin to understand, but nevertheless it was music to his ears. "It's been a while since we came out here, just the two of us."

Clay chuckled, elbowing him. "Yeah, since you became a full-time Professor. This is the first time I've seen you without that ridiculous coat on," he teased. 

George rolled his eyes, swatting his hand away. "It's for safety protocol," he insisted, only to have Clay mock his words. 

"Hey!" He exclaimed with a light laugh when George punched him in the arm, but seemingly did more damage to himself as he whispered 'ow' under his breath, causing Clay to laugh again and be cut off by George's sharp glare. He looked away, admiring the beauty of the forest they relaxed at the outskirts of. 

"So..." George trailed off, shifting into a more comfortable position, knees to his chest, resting his head on his palm. He stared at the forest and watched a couple of nocturnal Pokemon come out of hiding, before glancing at Clay. "What did you call me out here? You could have at least been more specific with your whereabouts, no one's gonna recognize you without the mask, _Dream,_ " he asked, giving him a playful nudge. 

Though he didn't instantly reply, and unlike when he had the mask on, he could actually see his emotions. The bright, familiar grin had faded from his face which had turned dull, and strangely sad-looking. He stared down at the bottom of the cliff, where there was a small lake. 

"Clay...?" As the lack of response went on, George grew somewhat concerned and shuffled closer. A few more seconds of silence passed by. 

Clay stared up at the sky, before looking down, and as George tried to say something, he noticed his fingers digging into his arms. "Clay─"

"Celebi's gone."

George yanked his hand back, his mouth falling open. He blinked his eyes and shook his head, staring at his friend in utter disbelief. A sheepish smile curled the corner of his mouth, "wh-what? Celebi... what do you mean Celebi's gone?" As the truth settled in, his face paled. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

Clay rose to his feet, hands balled into fists, staring down at the peaceful forest. "Exactly as I said, Celebi's missing. Someone took it." 

Someone took it. 

"B-but..."

Who would take it?

"That's impossible... oh, oh no." 

"We have to find it." 

_How did they find it?_


	4. Believe in me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first battle has finally arrived, but not without its challenges and slight, unplanned complications.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Altered the rules of the trial a little, to make things a bit more interesting.

The small Pokemon, Minuette flew around the hotel room as Tommy continued to sleep. In went over to his desk and tilted its head, staring at a framed photograph of a younger Tommy, Techno, Wilbur, Phil and Tubbo that had been taken before Techno became Champion. It twirled around and inched closer for a better look, though the sound of Tommy tossing and turning in his bed, waking up startled the Pokemon and caused it to knock over the photograph.

"What time is it?" Tommy mumbled, rubbing his eye. He pulled the covers off of him and throwing his legs over the edge, he picked up his alarm clock. "What?!" To his misfortune, his alarm hadn't gone off and the time sat at nearly one pm. He planned on waking up around nine so he could get at least an hour of training in before his big match against Tubbo. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like he'll have time for that. "You're kidding me! I have to get ready!"

In a rush to get dressed, Minuette attempted to pick up the photograph that's fallen to the floor. The glass over it had shattered, but remained in place. "Minuette!" Tommy exclaimed, making the Pokemon drop the photograph again, clattering to the floor just as it was about to place it back on the desk. "What are you doing out of your pokeball? Oh, I don't have time for this! Just, come on!" Strapping on his belt containing his pokeballs, he gestured for the Pokemon to follow as he ran to the door. "I'm late, I'm late!" He exclaimed as he bolted down the hall to the elevator, sliding his way in just as the doors were about to close, he grabbed Minuette and pulled them inside. 

He tapped his feet against the floor, adjusting his hair. "Does my hair look alright to you?" He asked, and Minuette nodded with a small smile. "Oh, you can't talk, you're a Pokemon," he sighed, and quickly checked he had everything before running out, not even waiting for the doors to fully open. He wasted no time in the lobby, hurrying out the door, but he bumped heads with somebody and it knocked him back.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" He snapped, but he recognized the boy. Though he still didn't know his name, it was the same boy from yesterday, the cocky one. His eyes narrowed, "it's you!" Out of all people, he had to run into him. 

The boy raised a brow, seeming almost a little confused. "Oh, it's you," he said nonchalantly, sounding disapointed. It popped a vein, and Tommy wanted nothing more than to wipe that calm look off his smug little face. He could easily take him in a Pokemon battle. 

"Why you─" but now wasn't the time, he was still in a rush and needed to head over to Tubbo's gym all the way in Turffield. Which, isn't too far, but nonetheless he had to get there quick. "You know what, I don't have time to deal with you," he grumbled and pushed past the unnamed boy, who scoffed. 

"Slept in, huh?" He commented, and Tommy told himself to ignore him. He would have to do something about him the next time they cross paths, if he doesn't change his attitude. Though, he wasn't exactly there to make friends, either. "Sucks for you, I already got my first badge from that 'friend' of yours," he held up the badge in between his fingers for Tommy to gawk at. 

He scoffed and turned away, and opened the door so it would swing back and hit him. He stifled a snicker at that, "sure, mock me all you want, but I'll show you a _real_ battle to be proud of," he grinned, as the boy rubbed the back of his head and grumbled. Tommy turned away and snickered, heading out the door. "Come on, Minuette."

His Pokemon had been happily chatting with the other boy's Bayleef, though at the call of its name it flew up and followed behind him. It flew past the unnamed boy's vision, and caught his attention. "Wait, what did you call it─" he was saying, but Tommy didn't stick around to hear the end of it. He kept walking, his back turned to him and that Pokemon cheerily flying around him. He stared for a few seconds before shaking his head, "no, it has to be a Ditto, that's it," he concluded, shoving his hands into his pockets he walked away. 

To reach Turffield, he would have to go through route three, Galar mines and route four before reaching his destination and that could take up to twenty minutes minimum. There wasn't even an exact set time to challenging the gym, but each trainer would go through the course one by one and there were hundreds of participating trainers. He wanted to get there as early as possible so he could have his gym battle, receive the badge and proceed on his journey, he didn't want to wait in line. 

So, he didn't have time to go through the mines. Not on foot, anyways, so he took out a pokeball. "Help me out, Willow!" At his command, a Ninetales jumped out and appeared before him, its golden fur glimmering under the sunlight, even Minuette was in awe. "Alright girl, I need to get to Turffield, can you take me?" Tommy requested, brushing its head. The Ninetales responded with its cry, and he grinned. "Alright! Minuette, you'll need to return to the pokeball."

The Pokemon didn't appear to understand until he took out its pokeball, and it shook its head. "What? No?" It nodded, and sat in his hoodie. After thinking for a moment, he sighed and pulled up his hood. "Fine, fine, but hold on tight then," he said cautiously, and the Pokemon nodded its head eagerly, smiling. He climbed onto his Ninetales and held on tight, "okay, take us as fast as you can!" 

He might have wanted to think twice before speaking. He needed to arrive at Turffield as soon as possible, but he greatly underestimated his Pokemon's speed. He had to have one arm wrapped around its lower neck and the other hand keeping his hood over his head, which contained Minuette who clung for dear life and was at risk of getting caught by the wind and shooting off at any given moment. 

"M-maybe slow down a little!" He suggested only after a few minutes, they were speeding straight past trainers and leaping over patches of tall grass, avoiding any chances of interacting with wild Pokemon. He had wanted to train up his team a little bit, but he would have to do that another time. His Ninetales let out an unintelligible cry in response, "I know what I said!"

Despite his request, the Ninetales refused to slow down, but at least they would arrive in Turffield soon enough. He would've preferred if he didn't fear falling off at every passing second, however, but why does that matter. His Ninetales always had sort of a smug, or more so "rude" nature, partly because he didn't catch it as a Vulpix, but found it in the wild as a Ninetales and the battle had been quite harsh, and he's sure Ninetales gave up towards the end and just allowed for him to catch it. Why exactly, he doesn't know. While it can be annoyed with him at times and sometimes ignore his requests, it remains loyal by his side and he's certain it'll help him achieve victory. 

They were still a short distance away, so he regained his balance and sat up, admiring their surroundings as they were about to head through the mines shortly. Although he already had his full team of Pokemon, catching a few more wouldn't hurt, because he couldn't help but gawk at the wild Pokemon he would encounter. It's bizarre that some people dream of catching them all when there's around nine hundred, and there are sure to be even more left undiscovered. What would you possibly do with all those Pokemon?

As he looked on and almost lost his balance, he caught sight of somebody in the not-so-far distance. They were a little hard to make out due to the speed they were going at, and how far away they were, but he swore that he recognized one of the two people standing together. "Isn't that... the Professor?" He asked out loud, but had no way to get a closer look. He squinted his eyes, "it is!" He exclaimed, a little surprised to see him so far from the Lab. Especially when he wasn't present yesterday, either. 

"Ninetales, slow down a bit," he asked softly, not taking his eyes off the two men, and his Pokemon obliged. 

"Who's that other person with him, though?" There was another, taller man he didn't recognize with short dirty blonde hair. They were both turned to each other, and Tommy couldn't get a good look at his face. Even without that, he knew he didn't know the man, it had to be just a friend of the Professor. As he decided to turn away, no longer interested in the stranger, the said man turned his head in his direction. For a split second they locked eyes, and then, he headed into the mines. 

He shook his head, leaning down to increase his speed they followed the rails through the mines. The word "weird" came to mind, but he pushed those arising thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on reaching the end of the tunnel, jumping over a few passing minecarts along the way. He ended up leaping over a person, too, who was ducked behind a minecart. He hadn't even noticed until he heard; "hey! Watch where you're going!" 

He had to force his Ninetales to halt, planting his feet on the ground it reluctantly came to a stop and almost sent him flying off. He had his arms wrapped around its body for dear life. He got off, his joints all stiff, and cracked his back with some effort, "thanks," he mumbled. Scratching the back of his neck, he turned to the person he'd jumped over, and they didn't appear too happy. "Uh, sorry about that! Didn't see you there," he apologised sincerely. 

The person, a male appeared a bit older than him, twenty perhaps. He had black hair sticking out from under his dark blue beanie, and his arms were crossed over a fancy black suit. He tapped his foot impatiently against the ground, as if waiting for something. "Uh-huh, look where you're going next time." 

"Right..." they're so close to Turffield, just a little longer. Tommy hopped back onto Ninetales, but glanced back at the strange man, what was he doing wearing a suit while in the mines? He spotted something in his hands, and he recognized it immediately as a bunch of wishing stars, like, a lot of them. It made the man appear even more suspicious, but before he could do anything, Ninetales sped off again and he had to hold on. 

Within a few minutes later, they had passed through route four and at long last made it to Turffield. "Thanks, Willow," returning his Ninetales to it's pokeball, he took in a deep breath and braced himself. "Okay, this is it," he mumbled to himself as he fixed his jacket and headed towards the stadium. 

Tubbo would have him complete a trial before allowing him to fight him. It'd only been how things in Galar gyms worked, and he was surprised to find out the only other region who did it was Alola, whereas every other region just threw you straight into battle. He of course didn't know what the trial would be, but knowing Tubbo designed it himself it likely had something to do with Combee. He really had a soft spot for those Pokemon, and bug types in general.

The previous gym leader had been a guy named "Jack Manifold", who specialized in normal types, but after a couple of years he decided he want to branch out more, experiment with different types and left his position as gym leader. Tubbo later stepped in, they needed a subsitute after all and he showed potential, not to mention he was brothers with Niki so they had high hopes. For some time, Jack trained Tubbo himself and gave him a few tips and tricks, but he'd since moved to another region and he can't recall which one. 

He entered the stadium, stepping into the lobby where he was required to change into his uniform. Once done, he was allowed to pass through and officially start the gym challenge.

The moment he steps through the door, he has no idea what awaits him. He paused for a moment, reassuring himself one last time before pushing the door open and stepping inside. He knew there'd be something to do with bug type Pokemon and most likely Combee, but he had underestimated his friend's fascination with the creature. 

"Whoa..." he was left in awe, having entered a literal sanctuary with lots of Combee happily floating around. He lowered his head and approached the referee who's supposed to inform him what's going on and his goal to pass through. 

"Greetings, challenger! Your mission is to gather honey from these Combee. Be wary, though, they're a pesky bunch and you have to fill the jar in order to pass," the referee explained. "You may use one Pokemon to assist you." 

Tommy looked up at the wandering Combee, and nodded. "Right, how hard can filling a jar of honey be?" He asked himself, and got straight to work, slowly making his way to a group of Combee, he quickly took back his words as they immediately headed to the air. They were far too high up to reach. "Oh, great! How am I supposed to do anything when they're up there?"

He scanned his surroundings and to his luck, spotted a net. Snatching it, he held it as high as he could and attempted to catch one of them. "Come on, into the comfy net!" He demanded, but could only convince a few of them to move the way he wanted, while still not going into the net, and the others went in completely different directions. "Hey!" 

He should have paid more attention to the referee's words, especially the part where he described the Pokemon as a "pesky bunch", but he had no idea they would be that short-tempered. It became clear when one, and then two, turned and glared at him and oh boy, were they quite intimidating. "Oh, uh, nice... Combee," he chuckled sheepishly, backing away. They inched closer, and he made the choice to turn away and run. He couldn't go far, though, running loops around the sanctuary, he's grateful the audience doesn't see this part. Or at least, he doesn't think they do. The gym trainers he's supposed to battle as well, can surely witness his catastrophe. 

"Alright, Gizmo, I need your assistance!" He exclaimed and throwing up the pokeball, his trickster Aipom companion jumped out and landed on a tree branch, hanging upside-down by its tail. "Gizmo, I need you to help me gather honey from these Combee and, get them away from me!" He shrieked the last part, fleeing from some angry Combee after him. His Aipom genuinely laughed, finding the scene amusing. He had suspicions it wouldn't strictly obey his orders, especially since it enjoys playing non-stop pranks on him. "Gizmo!" 

The Pokemon stood up and ran across the tree branch, and up the tree to its top. It stuck its head through the leaves at the very top, and called out to the Combee. Although Tommy didn't understand Pokemon speech, it became clear his Aipom was taunting the Combee, only making more of them frustrated. "Not like that!!" He cried.

It was too late, he now had a large following of Combee chasing after his single Aipom, who didn't seem to mind the danger it was in. The referee watched safely from the sidelines, as Tommy ran after his Aipom jumping from the trees. "You idiot! Why'd you piss them off for?!" He yelled, as if he'd get a response, let alone one he'd understand. He knows it can be foolish and annoying at times, but he didn't think it could be this idiotic. "Get back here, back in the pokeball!" 

He held up its pokeball, but Aipom was too quick to catch, for both him and the Combee. "Hey! Are you listening to me?!" The Pokemon had did the exact opposite of what he requested, the Combee were supposed to go into their hives calmly, but now the only thing they wanted to do was chase both of them. "Gizmo! I'm talking to you!" He snapped, one last attempt at getting his Aipom to listen to him for once and take him seriously. At this rate, the trial will take ages. Tubbo will be wondering what's the big hold up, standing alone in the big open stadium without a trainer to face. 

Thankfully, Aipom looked to him with its large, goofy grin and unfortunately, launched itself off a tree branch and straight at him. The action startled him but still, he opened his arms and the Aipom jumped straight into his embrace. He stumbled back and lost his footing, falling onto the ground. "Why you little, hey!" To his astonishment, the Aipom hadn't jumped into his arms for safety or comfort, instead it ran off again carrying his empty jar in its tail. 

Tommy jumped to his feet and the large horde of Combee were heading straight towards him. As for his Aipom, it had returned to the trees, climbing to the hightest one and lunged at the Combee that had formed together to create a hive. 

Tommy screamed at the top of his lungs, things were not supposed to turn out this way. 

In the end, his Aipom had collected the perfect amount of honey on its own terms, having used Tommy as bait for the Combee. As a result he didn't get away unscathed, but after battling the gym trainers who held back the urge to laugh at his horrible, but successful attempt, he was allowed to pass through. "I hate you," he said, directed at his Aipom sitting on his shoulder and it giggled. He sighed, returning it to its pokeball and stepped through the passage. 

The sunlight shining down blinded him, he raised a hand to shield his face. Immediately the sound of audience cheering filled his ears, and a wide grin crossed his face. He lowered his hand and looked around him, taking in the magnificent sight of the stadium. There were so, so many people even if it was just the first gym battle. They would all bare witness to his first match, and he would make sure they never forget his name. They've probably already seen plenty of challengers competing, but he planned to show them a real show. 

"I thought you weren't going to make it." 

His eyes landed on his best friend standing on the other side of the battlefield, and slowed to a stop. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a confident grin plastered onto his face, he'd been waiting. Now, their match could finally begin. It's too bad he's the first gym leader to face, instead of having a build-up to the final battle before the Champion cup, but he'd been anticipating this for long enough. 

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" The sounds of the crowd died down into silence, as they eagerly awaited them to send out their Pokemon. He already knew which Pokemon would be Tubbo's last, his first on the other hand, he can't be too sure. He's gone up against Tubbo with his full team of Pokemon multiple times before, preparing for this moment, but with that in mind, Tubbo could easily have a few tricks up his sleeve. He wouldn't reveal all his tactics, after all. 

Tommy had a new surprise to show off, too. He grabbed one of the pokeballs from his belt, and lightly tossed it into the air. "I really need to thank you again, Tubbo, you're the reason I'm here in the first place!" He called out. In order to participate in the Galar League, you must receive an endorsement from a Gym Leader or another notable trainer, and since Phil and Wilbur refused and Tommy knew no other Gym Leaders, Tubbo stepped in. Without him, he wouldn't be here.

Tubbo chuckled, "well, show me if you have what it takes to move forward!" He raised his voice, and threw his pokeball, and out came a Beedril. Tommy had been there when he first encountered the fierce Pokemon. It'd been quite the surprise when a single Beedril defended them from a whole army of angry ones chasing them down after an incidental slip-up. Tubbo always had a way with Pokemon, maybe the fact he smells like honey has something to do with it.

"Let me remind you, Tommy, we're not friends on this platform! It's you, against me, so don't hold back!" Tubbo exclaimed. 

Tommy readied his pokeball. "I could say the same to you!" And chucked it onto the open arena. He knew he would have an advantage sending out Quilava or Ninetales, both fire type Pokemon, and clearly this Pokemon had a different typing, but now or never he wanted to try it out. The ball crashed onto the ground, and he expected his Pokemon to come flying out, but... 

"Huh?" Nothing happened. The pokeball sat still, not moving in the slightest. Which made no sense, Minuette should have come out by now. He walked over to the ball and leaning down, picked it up. "It's... empty," he said quietly, running his thumb over the button. 

The crowd that just started riling up stared in utter confusion, turning to each other and privately discussing the odd situation. This is not how he planned to start off the "greatest" battle. 

"Tommy, is everything alright?" Tubbo asked, ignoring the whole match he hurried over to his friend's side. 

Tommy raised his head and met Tubbo's gaze, causing him to stop. His hand began trembling, the pokeball he held still not opening to reveal his Pokemon. The mistake he'd made dawned on him. Minuette had been riding in his hood, and then he stopped in the mines. How could he not notice until now that he didn't have his companion flying beside him, or remembered earlier he didn't put it back in its pokeball? How could he be such a horrible trainer to a Pokemon he just befriended.

"T-Tubbo, I... I left my Pokemon, I need to go get it!" He cried, going into a panic. It must still be at the mines, or who knows, it could have wandered off and he has no idea how long it's been. Though this current match was still being broadcasted live, and there were over fifty people, possibly over a hundred or so, tuning in and witnessing this pitiful downfall. It's a terrible start to his journey, he wanted everyone to remember him, but not like this, not for being an embarrassment and a bad trainer. 

"What?! Tommy, we're, we're in the middle of a battle!" Tubbo blurted out as he stepped closer, trying to keep his voice low enough so no one would overhear while also expressing his shock. The look on Tommy's face silenced him, and he bit his lip, thinking on it. He didn't need to speak again, Tommy could tell just by his expression. 

He nodded, "thank you, Tubbo," and then with that he turned on his heel and raced out the other door that led him directly outside. The crowd erupted in mass uncertainty. This had never occured before, no one had ever just fled a battle before it even begun, and there were sure to be a newspaper or media report on this hilarious, and downright embarrassing scene. His face will be all over the place, but it's a cost he's willing to pay. It doesn't help Phil and Wilbur are likely watching this, he ruined his chance to impress them and prove their impression of him wrong. Arceus, what would they think of him now? They already saw him as weak enough to baby, not yet ready to take on the big league. 

He can still prove them wrong. 

"S-send in the next challenger!" Tubbo instructed to his referee, a bead of sweat rolling down his back. He looked to the door Tommy had ran out of, and gulped. 

Tommy ran as fast as his legs would take him, through the tall grass and narrowly avoiding wild pokemon he entered the mines. Minuette had to be somewhere close by, right? It wouldn't have gone far, it knows better than to wander off. Or so, he hopes. "Minuette!" He called out, cupping his mouth to make his voice louder. The mines were dark, filled with dangerous wild Pokemon.

Oh, he doesn't know what he'd do if Minuette got hurt. 

"Minuette! Where are you? I'm sorry for leaving you alone, it was an accident!" Again, he called out to his Pokemon as he searched everywhere for it. Then, he got an idea and sent out his Pokemon, all five of them. Ninetales, Quilava, Aipom, Toxel and Jolteon, who all appeared excited to be outside, but upon noticing his worried expression as he paced back and forth they calmed down. "Guys, guys, Minuette is─oh, Arceus, you don't even know who Minuette is. Static, Gizmo, Sparky, you know who I'm talking about! The Pokemon we rescued from the Slumbering Weald!" He rambled, speaking with quick hand gestures.

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed heavily. "I need to find them, I need to find them, you need to help me, guys!" He begged. His Pokemon exchanged looks, and he hated now more than ever the fact he can't speak Pokemon. Then, the three Pokemon he mentioned ran off, followed by the others and he could only pray they understood.

He leaned against the rocky wall and slid down to the ground, knees to his chest and hands over his face. He groaned, how could he have been so careless, so, so foolish? Minuette surely has to be around here somewhere and he'll find them for sure. He has to... 

"Tommy?" 

His head shot up at the soft, feminine voice and his eyes widened. He quickly rose to his feet and stumbled a little. His Pokemon had returned, and brought someone along with them. "N-Niki?" It seems like they knew what they were doing after all. "What... are you doing here?" 

"I came here to check on Tubbo, see how he's doing," she answered truthfully, "and I also kind of wanted to watch the big match between you two, but you're right here." Her slight smile went away, and she wore a concerned expression. "What's wrong?" She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Just hearing her gentle voice calmed him down, he took a few seconds to relax himself before explaining things. "What Pokemon is it?" She asked, and his mind went blank. 

He scrambled his brain for a response, but his brain died. "Uhh... I, don't actually know," he admitted, avoiding her gaze as she gave him a strange look. It could very well be a common Pokemon from another region that he and Ranboo just never heard of. "It's really tiny, like, this small and it has two little antennas, it's head is shaped like an onion. It has little fairy wings, and it's green, does... does that ring a bell?" 

She stared at him even more puzzled, and either he did a poor job at describing or she's somehow never seen it, too. "Not... really? But none of the wild Pokemon here fit that description, so I'm sure I'll be able to tell it apart," she replied, looking around. She was right, fire types such as the Roggenrola line occupied the mines. "Does it have a name?" She asked one last time, and he nodded. 

"Minuette!" He started calling out to it again, and she did the same. Along with his Pokemon and her Sylveon searching, they were bound to come across it. That is, if it hasn't already left the area, and it's a high possibility his mind kept jumping back to. It didn't matter how much time they'd spend, the battle can wait. 

He spent at least five or ten minutes trying to find Minuette, until he heard a cry from his Jolteon and immediately ran in its direction. His heart leaped in his chest at the sight of Minuette weakly floating in the air, barely able to keep itself up. "Minuette! There you are!" He rejoiced, and caught the Pokemon in his arms. He was overjoyed at their reunion, until he noticed it's lack of strength and his smile faded. There were a lot of wild Pokemon around, by chance it might've been attacked. "Oh, Minuette, I'm so sorry..." he apologized, cradling the small Pokemon in his arms before returning it to its pokeball. "You should get some rest."

At long last, he'd found his Pokemon and could finally relax. "Thanks, Pyro," he said softly and the Quilava made a delighted sound in response before being sent to its pokeball. He pinched his forehead and sighed, almost getting a headache from all the stress and worrying. He's lucky he found Minuette, or it could've gotten even more hurt. Luckily, he has some potions on hand. "Niki! I found them!" He called out, having lost sight of the girl. 

"Really?" He heard her say, and soon enough she found him. "That's great, is it okay?" 

He frowned, and scratched the back of his head. "No, it... must have gotten attacked by some wild Pokemon, but I can heal them up," he assured with a small smile, and she nodded. 

"That's a relief, I'm heading back to Turffield now," she said, turning away. "You're coming, right? Since you are dressed in the uniform," she stifled a small giggle, and he looked down at himself, forgetting he hadn't changed out.

"Oh, yeah," he cleared his throat and returned the rest of his Pokemon to their pokeballs. He looked to Niki and nodded, "Tubbo's waiting for me."


	5. I Have Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He knew retrieving his first gym badge would be difficult, but...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the way the gym leaders are listed is confusing, I tried to make it so their typings made sense in their locations, but the plot points make it very difficult.

Pokemon can't talk, as far as he's concerned and he isn't exactly certain if they can completely understand human speech either, even though they attack as their trainer commands and he has the embarrassing habit of communicating with them as if they can both understand him and talk back. The uncertainties won't stop him from profusely apologizing to his Pokemon over, and over again, though, as he's been doing for the past five minutes on his way back to the stadium accompanied by Niki, who, unfortunately had to bare with it.

She didn't know what Minuette was, either, surprisingly. He thought she'd have some kind of clue, but she did note that she'd seen it somewhere before, but couldn't place her finger on it. It hadn't been in the wild, but in fact a book she couldn't remember the name of, so she couldn't give him any information. 

Minuette was fine, it had definitely gotten attacked by some wild Pokemon or something and got a little hurt, but nothing a couple of potions couldn't fix. To his utter relief, it didn't appear mad at him at all or even the smallest bit upset, in fact it was comforting _him._ Placing its teeny tiny hands on his face and speaking in sounds he couldn't decipher, who knows what it could be saying to him, because he surely doesn't. When they neared the stadium, he chose to return it to its pokeball. After leaving it in the mines, he didn't feel content with having it battle for him, as much as he desired to show it off, he'll just have to introduce it to Tubbo after the match. On second thought, he'll still have plenty of trainers to battle afterwards, he won't be able to do it in just one day with how many entered. 

The amount will only decrease as time goes on and they progress through the league, the whole point of having the Gym Leaders become more difficult along the way is to eliminate the weak until only a select through make it to the finals. So, he'll have to wait a little longer to have a proper conversation with Tubbo again, he'll definitely be exhausted after today, and then he'll be back to the stadium the next day. He's only sixteen, turning seventeen near the end of the year and he'd been elected as Gym Leader at age fourteen, it'll be his second anniversary soon, if that's even a thing. Even if he is the first and "weakest" Gym Leader of the bunch, he's immensely proud of him and how far he's come. 

But he has to remind himself, that in this match they're not friends, nor really rivals, but a challenger facing off against their first obstacle on the path of becoming Champion; a Gym Leader, and they both need to give it all they've got. No going easy on him even if the rules require it, he needs to be ready for when he goes against the second Gym Leader, none other than the fire type specialist, Sapnap. He's... a tough opponent, and he used to be the third Gym Leader instead of Phil, residing in Motostoke, but he took up that position and the original second Gym Leader chose to retire, and so Sapnap happily took that position. Even though it meant he would have to go much easier on challengers, it annoyed him a little at first but he soon became used to it and took it as an opportunity to cheer on challengers, give them confidence.

Especially since after him, they'll be going up against Phil, who's had the endearing title "Angel of Death" since his Champion days. After losing his Champion position he dropped to eighth place, and he remained there for some time before steadily dropping down to third place. His fans were devastated at the news, and some believed it meant he'd lost his "golden touch", only to be proven wrong in the Champion Cup where he refused to hold back and would absolutely demolish the competition. Some people believe he can easily win back the crown, but is only choosing not to because Techno is his son. 

Tommy can't be certain if that plays a role in that or not, but he knows for a fact that Phil isn't interested in taking back the crown, whether Techno is his son or not. He says he just finds the position as Gym leader much more satisfying, basically it's his retirement. At the same time, he acts as the first barrier for Challengers and easily slices the competition down by half with ease. Like an angel blocking the gate to proceed forward, they're lucky he holds back with a weaker team, or practically no one would stand a chance except for a selective few. 

However, the next time they interact, hopefully before he faces his gym in Motostoke, while he knows how unlikely it'll be, Tommy's determined to make him use his strongest team. The one he uses in the Champion Cup, even though he isn't supposed to, he can make an exception to his son, right? 

It'll make the match all the more entertaining, after all, and after years of watching battle and battle broadcasted on live television, he knows that plays a large role. You wouldn't want to bore the audience, and the Chairman may be a bit iffy at times, if you ask him, but he knows what the audience wants. 

"Hey," Niki spoke up, lightly nudging Tommy, "we're here." 

He snapped out of his thoughts and lifted his head, and they'd stopped right outside of the stadium. He knew they weren't that far, but somehow... he wasn't prepared for this, despite almost engaging in battle not long ago. "I'll be watching you from the stands," Niki said, and gave a wink, then slowly removed her hand from his shoulder and entered the stadium from a different entrance. 

So, it was just Tommy left by himself, staring up at the intimidatingly large building. He gulped, and took out his pokeball containing his Quilava; Pyro, and softly sighed. There's no going back, he has to face the embarrassment of re-entering the stage after his escape, and there'd be hundreds of people looking down upon him. He needs to prove himself, impress the crowd and change their impression of him before it's too late. He needs to prove to Tubbo, to Wilbur and Phil that he can do this. 

Without wasting anymore time, he proceeded inside. The referee let him through the trial, and entered the spotlight once more as the previous battle just ended, and despite this being the first and easiest gym, they'd lost. They retrieved their pokeball and with their head hung low, walked towards Tommy and went out the other exit just beside him. If he lost this, he'd be following them in shame. 

But he isn't going to lose.

He made his way onto the grassy field and watched Tubbo heal his whole team, and then, noticed him from the corner of his eye and his face instantly lit up. "Tommy, you're back!" He greeted, contradicting his earlier statement of them not being friends during this moment. He appeared to remember that, and corrected himself, "are you ready?" He asked, his expression changing into slightly more serious.

Tommy stopped and clutching his pokeball tight, held his breath. His expression stern, he nodded, "you better not go easy on me, I have something to prove, you know." 

Tubbo couldn't resist a smile, "right. Let's make this count." 

With that, their battle begun. Tommy sent out his Quilava against Tubbo's Beedrill, right now he had the type advantage. He still has to precisely plan out his attacks, and come up with a strategy, though he probably should have done that beforehand. The crowd has started cheering, and he can't tell whether they're on his, or Tubbo's side, especially after his leave. 

"Pyro, flame wheel!" Unfortunately, it's the only fire type move it knows, but they can make up for that with their agility. Quilava charged towards Beedrill, it's body engulfed in flames.

"Beedrill, dodge!" Tubbo commanded, but as Beedrill moved into the air, Quilava leaped into the air and hit it dead-on. It landed safely on its feet, whereas Beedrill crashed into the ground but quickly got back up. "Not bad," Tubbo commented, "now, Beedrill, use toxic!"

"Dig!" 

The Beedrill aimed at Quilava with its stinger, but Quilava successfully dug underground and dodged the attack. Now, they had no telling where the Pokemon lurked, awaiting anxiously until the right moment, when it came out of hiding. "Now!" And at Tommy's command, used flame wheel again and striked Beedrill from behind, and tackled it into the solid ground. Two hits, and it went down.

Tubbo returned his Beedrill, and met Tommy's stern gaze. 

_"Don't go easy on me."_

He had the first victory, but it's far from over. "Great job, Pyro," especially since he noticed Quilava flinch; it'd been poisoned at the last moment when their Pokemon intertwined. He should have seen that coming, and as he pondered whether he should return it or not and send out his next Pokemon, Tubbo continued the battle, throwing out his Whirlipede.

Tommy shared glances with his Quilava, as if they could communicate, and he chose to keep it in the battle for now. Thus, the match proceeded in a fiery blaze, as Tommy focused on using dig and surprising them from behind with a flame wheel, that trick quickly got old. To save himself he threw up a smokescreen, and he got a few attacks in, but poison finally got a hold of Quilava and brought him down.

The first Gym Leader is only supposed to have two Pokemon, that's the rules. That isn't the team Tubbo uses when they've battled every other time, however, so would Tubbo play by the rules or make this a bit more interesting? Tommy had six Pokemon himself, after all, and with them being around the same level as his, he's got this in the bag.

He didn't have anything super-effective against poison, so he threw in Ninetales. Once Whirlipede falls, will Tubbo bring out another Pokemon, or will the battle end there? 

There's only one way to find out.

"Ninetales, flamethrower!" The Pokemon followed his instructions, flames shooting out of its mouth, he should have known something wasn't right when Whirlipede didn't even attempt to dodge. 

Then, he saw the slight smirk on Tubbo's face, as he returned Whirlipede to it's pokeball and the pokeball grew ten times larger in his hands, he used all his might to throw it up into the air. "Whirlipede, Dynamax!" 

The incredible phenomenon only found in Galar, how could he forget. He'd follow with his own Dynamaxed Pokemon, that is if he had one. You needed a wishing star to make it into a Dynamax band, and he'd yet to come across one. They don't work in a regular battle, only in specific "power spots", such as stadiums. 

The Whirlipede came out absolutely gigantic, and now compared to it, Tommy's Ninetales was a tiny speck. He wouldn't be able to do much damage, but it's effects only last for three turns... but, he doubts he'll last that long. 

He proved himself correct when the Whirlipede knocked him in out in one fell swoop. He hadn't stood a chance, and the crowd went wild. The show had only just begun. He sighed, placing his pokeball in his belt he took out the next one, and stared at his reflection. 

"Well, you said you didn't want me going easy on you," Tubbo piped up, and Tommy tightened his grip on his pokeball before throwing it out into the arena. Dynamax or no, he'll win this. He has to. His Jolteon came out, and he still had two turns left until Tubbo's Whirlipede returns to normal size and this becomes a fair fight again, but he doesn't mind a little challenge. 

All the more chance to prove himself. 

He cracked a smirk, and chuckled. They'd prepared for this moment, perhaps not exactly, but he'd gone up against Tubbo plenty of times before. The audience watched as his Jolteon ran around the stadium without any instructions, it narrowly avoided one of Whirlipede's attacks and countered with swift, though it didn't do much. Tubbo followed warily, bracing himself for any surprises he waited for the right moment to strike; he only had this last turn left before Dynamax ran out. He watched closely, until Jolteon ran straight into his line of sight. Right where he wanted him. "Quick, Whirlipede, max ooze!"

It all came crashing down and the attack hit Jolteon dead-on with a big wave of poisonous sludge erupting from underneath. Something that Jolteon shouldn't have been able to survive, another one K.O and dropping Tommy down to two Pokemon, not counting Minuette. On the other hand... when the sludge vanished, to Tubbo's astonishment, Jolteon stood back up. "Wh-what? But... that should have finished it!" 

Tommy started laughing, further confusing Tubbo. He waited for him to finish, finding this rather amusing, Tommy sighed and wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye. Tubbo hated the smug look he received as Tommy crossed his arms over his chest, a cheeky grin tugging at the corner of his face. "You're the one who taught me about items, remember? I finally put it to use."

Tubbo paled, his Whirlipede reverting him to normal size stopped him from recalling the vague memory. He barely had any time to make a move, Tommy saw an opportunity and snatched it. "There's another thing you gave me, too, I should be thanking you for!" He declared, and for the first few seconds Tubbo didn't have a clue what he's going on about. Then, it hit him.

"Sparky, use thunderbolt!" 

Quite literally. 

The nimble Pokemon made a dash towards him, sparks of electricity bouncing off it. There's still a chance for him to counterattack, block it, but as he opened his mouth to scream out a command, the crackle of thunder silenced his voice. He had to close his eyes from the brightness, shielding his face with his arm. He hesitantly removed it when he heard Tommy's victorious laughter, and his Whirlipede had barely held on. The fight was still on, yet judging by the confident look on Tommy's face, he thought otherwise. 

They both announced their last attacks; "Sparky, bite!"

"Whirlipede, poison tail!"

The two Pokemon collided, both attacks hitting. Each Pokemon were low on health, but what came next no one expected. Jolteon and Whirlipede collapsed at almost the exact same time, and could no longer battle. It'd been a tie, and after Tommy returned Jolteon to its pokeball he looked to Tubbo, who avoided his gaze as he did the same. Then, they locked eyes and he have a closed-eye smile.

Oh.

"Challenger Tommyinnit is the victor!" 

In the end, it turns out things weren't going to be different. He used his weak team of only two Pokemon, but he'd managed to take down three out of Tommy's five Pokemon, so it hadn't been an easy task. The Rotom flying around broadcasting the whole fight flew down and zoomed in on his face, getting a little too close. "Personal space, buddy," he murmured, stepping aside. Then, he remembered everyone would be seeing this, and he flashed a smile, and fixed his hair. "Hey there, world! My name is Tommyinnit, and I'm going to be the next Champion! Oh, is that too clichè?"

"Tommy." 

Snapping out of his thoughts, he turned to Tubbo who approached him with a gentle smile on his face, and held out the Gym badge. Tommy's smile faltered and he walked over, stopping in front of him. His eyes fixated on the shiny badge, he reached out his hand to take it, but flinched, and slowly retracted it. "I..." he mumbled, not knowing why his chest suddenly grew so tight. 

Tubbo took his hand in between his, and placed the badge in his palm. "Here," he said, removing his hands he lifted his head and smiled at Tommy, "you deserve it. I'm sure you'll get far, but... don't let that get to your head," he chuckled, scratching his cheek and Tommy rolled his eyes at him. He reached out his hand and briefly paused, "Tommy?" But the second he looked into Tubbo's eyes, he wrapped his arm around his back and pulled him into a hug. 

_"We're not friends on this battlefield,"_ he says to hell with that. They're the best of friends, and...

"I could have never done it without your help."

Tubbo laughed, "maybe I helped you a little too much." 

The crowd went insane for a little longer, and it probably had something to do with their unexpected, close reaction. He swears, if he sees a newspaper with the heading; _"Gym leader Tubbo shares close moment with victorious trainer!"_ Or something along those lines, he'll probably have Jolteon rip it to shreds.

The audience soon calmed themselves, and it was about time for the next challenger to come through, his battle wasn't going to be the last, that's for sure. Tubbo has his work cut out for him, he can almost pity him. Despite wanting to hold him close for just a few more seconds, Tommy pulled away, his hand staying on Tubbo's shoulder. "I'll see you later, big guy," he said, ruffling his hair. "I'll... leave you be now, try not to go too easy on those guys, alright?" He stepped past Tubbo, peering over his shoulder at him.

A hand on top of his head, needing to fix up his hair, Tubbo nodded. "I'll see you soon. I'll try not to take too long."

Tommy nodded and slowly, he turned away and shoving his hands into his pockets, made his way towards the exit back near the entrance. Once he reached it, he couldn't help but glance back at Tubbo, seeing him heal his team and prepare himself for the upcoming battle. He looked down at the badge in his hand, marking the true beginning of his journey. One down, only seven more to go. And he can't wait. 

He entered the lobby and changed back into his normal clothes, and brought out his Toxel who sat on his shoulder as it usually did. 

Distracted admiring the Gym badge in the light, he didn't pay attention to his surroundings and bumped into someone. The badge fell from his hand, dropping to the ground he hurriedly bent down to pick it up. "Crap," he muttered as he cleaned it against his jacket, and to his relief it didn't have a scratch on it. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized to the person he bumped into, but when he lifted his head and got a good look at them, the colour drained from his face.

"P-Phil?" He gulped, eyes widening he took a step back. He had a blank stare and yet, Tommy still felt intimidated under his gaze, despite the small height difference. Even his Toxel recoiled a bit. Tommy assumed he'd be watching from his gym in Motostoke, which actually isn't too far from here, but still. The match ended only roughly ten minutes ago. 

He couldn't read his emotions from his blank face, and it made him uneasy. Their last interaction... hadn't gone too well, and he could only assume this'll end the same. "Hey, Tommy," he greeted after some silence. "I saw your match, and... well, you won, I wasn't expecting it but, you did it." 

Tommy's chest tightened, his emotions a tangled mess in his heart and mind. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. His hands balled into loose fists, he released his breath and his shoulders fell. He forced himself to look Phil in the eyes, "Yeah, I... won, fair and square," he answered in an uncharacteristically toned down voice. 

Seeing Phil's expression soften up, he had a bit of hope. It didn't last for very long. "I'm sorry, but you won't be able to win against Sapnap." 

A small crack appearing in his heart, his knees grew weak. "Wh-what?" He choked out, his mouth curling up into a nervous smile. 

Phil averted his gaze, and sighed. "You were just able to win against Tubbo with two Pokemon remaining, and even if you catch another member and add it to your team, I don't think you stand a chance. He won't go easy on you," he gave it to him straightforward, his tone turning blunt, and cold. 

His heart received another crack that he physically felt. His eyes burning through the concrete ground beneath his feet, his mind went blank. " _He won't go easy on you",_ what is that supposed to mean? 

"I'm sorry, Tommy, I don't think you'll be able to do this, you should just... quit while you're ahead."

"No, that's where you're wrong." 

"I, what?"

Clenching his teeth, his hands balled into fists Tommy glared at Phil, stepping closer. "I'm sick of you doubting me, babying me, I know I can do this. And I'm going to prove it to you," he snapped, towering over him. "That's a promise," his voice softened and his glare faded, he slowly moved back and his Toxel leaned into his touch as he raised his hand. His eyes still narrowed, he turned his back to Phil. "I'm going to show you, Wil, Techno and anyone who doubts me just how wrong you are." 

Without saying another word, he walked away and left Phil by himself. Going down the path, his thoughts swirled around in his mind and he closed his eyes, trying to clear his head. Tilting his head to face the cloudy blue sky, he stopped at a bench and sat down with his head in his hands. His Toxel comforted him, cooing softly as it rubbed its head against his face. He picked it up and leaning back, held it above his head and blocked the sun. He smiled, "you believe in me, right, Static?" The Pokemon gestured wildly with its short, baby-like arms and said something he couldn't understand, but chuckled and hummed along as if he could. 

"Right, right, I knew you'd say that," he agreed, sitting the Pokemon in his lap he laid down on the bench, using his hands as a pillow. He watched the clouds float by, and a few of them looked like Pokemon he recognized. "I'll prove them all wrong," he whispered, his smile disapearing. He raised a hand to the sky, the clouds just out of his reach. "Yeah, I'm sure of it."


	6. You can count on me

"Where could it have _gone?_ " Clay paced back and forth within the laboratory, hands entangled in his let down hair. George quietly followed him inside, closing the door behind them. 

He half shrugged, slipping off his coat and hanging it up. He ran a hand through his messy hair, "are you sure someone took it? I mean, it might have just wandered off," he answered. 

Dream stopped, removed his hands from his hair and sent George a weird look as if he'd said the most stupidest thing. He approached him, gesturing wildly with his hands as he spoke, "George, that Celebi never leaves the Slumbering Weald unless it time travels! And as far as I know, that's only happened twice. One of them being me," he argued, and put his foot down.

George raised a brow, then averted his gaze and walked past him and began looking around the laboratory. "Okay, okay, sheesh. So someone took it, and the big deal is?" 

Clay facepalmed, and groaned. His eyes narrowed, he trailed behind George, "in case you've forgotten, Celebi's a rare, mythical Pokemon. It's not meant to be in some trainer's team, it's way too powerful and it's ability to time travel makes any interaction with it dangerous," he explained, visibly annoyed. 

George hummed, then came to a halt upon finding his assistant, Ranboo, lying asleep near the bookshelves with his Vulpix and Pichu resting on him. Clay walked over, standing beside him and staring down at the sleeping boy with a curious look. "Has he regained any of his memories yet?" He asked. 

George shook his head, turning and walking away. "Not yet, he's only been here for a few weeks, you know. He only remembers his name, and nothing else as far as he's told me," he answered. "And you need to stop worrying about Celebi, I mean, if someone really did take it, then they're bound to show it off at the gym challenge, right?"

Clay opened his mouth to protest, but the idea settled in and his eyes widened. A grin crossed his face and he threw his arms around George, then pulled him into a chokehold and ruffled his hair, "that's a brilliant idea, Gogy! They'll want to show off the powerful Pokemon they've caught, and once they do and it's broadcasted to live tv, we'll catch them in the act!" 

George glared at him, struggling out of his grasp he shoved him away and freed himself. He adjusted the goggles that fell off his head, "what did I tell you about calling me that stupid nickname?" He hissed, but Clay only rolled his eyes with a playful smile and hit him on the back. With a little too much strength. 

"I'm gonna head out now, thanks for your help! Oh, and make sure to catch the gym challengers on tv!" Clay bid his farewell for now with a wave, and with that walked straight out the door before George could give a response. 

He waved back, and as soon as he left, George sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He shook his head and turned around, his eyes falling to Ranboo who remained fast asleep in an upseat position, his goggles slowly falling down. Perhaps he should get a proper bed in here, for both of them. A sudden realization paused that train of thought, his face going pale. "Wait, but there's going to be hundreds of challengers! And I don't even have a tv!" 

* * *

Tommy didn't sleep much last night, despite the expensive comfiness of the bed and incredibly soft warm blankets covering him, his mind refused to rest. Phil's words haunted him, keeping him awake for a large majority of the night, and he couldn't do anything about it. He seeked comfort from his Pokemon, but they needed sleep, too, so he didn't bother. But Minuette had for some reason refused to sleep in it's pokeball, and so it laid on his pillow, huddled up right beside his head.

When he woke up the next morning, having drifted off to sleep at some point, but only for a few hours, roughly three, he felt a lot heavier. He opened his eyes, and to his surprise, his Pokemon had sneakily came out of their pokeballs while he must've been asleep, and rested on top and alongside him. Ninetales had literally fallen asleep right on top of him, and with it being larger and heavier than him, he couldn't exactly move. It doesn't seem to realize it's not a small, weightless Vulpix. 

Even Aipom is on his head, it's tail tucked under his head like a third pillow, and he can hear it softly snoring by his ear. He's surprised he managed to sleep like this. He could hardly move, but tilted his head so he could see the time written on his alarm clock. He shouldn't have to worry too much about time, there's no limit, except for when it gets past ten pm. Gym Leaders require breaks, after all, healing their teams and sending them back into battle repeatedly must be exhausting for both of them. 

Luckily, it's only just hit one pm. So he should have no problem entering, that is if there isn't a long line waiting for him, and he still has to get to Hulburry. Logically, it'd be better if he set up camp somewhere near his destination and rest there, but he found the comfort of a hotel room much better, and he didn't exactly know how to set up a tent that well. Next time he'll have to, because he isn't willing to fly all the way back to Motostoke again, and now he could save him the journey and catch a lift to Hulburry, that'd save him a lot of time. 

However, he didn't get to properly prepare for his earlier match with Tubbo, even if it did end in his victory. At the same time, he doesn't want to get overpowered, because that'll ruin the fun of a challenge, but if he doesn't do some kind of training with his team, then he doesn't stand a chance. Every Gym leader uses a stronger team than the next, and since his battle with Tubbo had been too much of a close call, he'd be foolish not to prepare himself. 

"Get off me, Willow!" He tried to push his Ninetales off of him, or at least wake it up. In the process he woke up Minuette, who noticed him struggling and after simply nodging his Aipom and Ninetales, and the rest of his Pokemon lying across his bed, woke them up. He let out a sigh of relief when his Ninetales jumped off, but not without accidentally kicking him in the stomach. "Oh, sweet Arceus," he mumbled, rolling over clutching his stomach as the rest of his body went numb. 

The pain fading, he stood up and stretched, then hastily returned his team into their pokeballs, including Minuette, despite its hesitance, and quickly got dressed. Then, he sent out Minuette again, and the Pokemon happily flew around his head, and he couldn't resist scratching it's cheek. He also released Static, his Toxel, and carried the baby-like Pokemon in his arms as he walked out the door. 

He hummed to himself as he took the elevator down, contemplating whether he should walk, or ride Willow on again. The elevator stopped on the ground floor with a ding, and he stepped out. There were plenty of new faces around, but some he recognized from last time. They were all talking amongst themselves, and the vast majority were teenagers like him. 

His expression turned sour upon noticing the multiple dynamax bands on almost so many people. Sure, there were still a few that didn't have one, but he envied those who did. They weren't exactly ultra rare, all you need is a wishing star in order to make one, and they sometimes fall from the sky, or can be found in caves. Admittedly, he's gone searching for one himself, and even with Tubbo, but he came out empty handed. 

It doesn't matter, even if he doesn't have one and every Gym Leader does, if he just trains hard enough he'll be able to defeat any Pokemon, dynamaxed or not. It'll be a little tricky when they start heading into gigantimax territory though, and frankly, that's a little unfair, but the opponents grow harder and harder each victory. So he doesn't have a choice, he'll just have to power through.

"Hey, isn't that the kid who left mid-battle during Tubbo's gym?" An unfamiliar voice pointed at, and Tommy froze. He'd always wanted to be recognized, but not like this. 

"Oh, yeah, it is. Hey!"

Ah, crap. He caught a glimpse of two fellow teenagers looking his way, one pointing at him, and he panicked. Securing his hold on Static and checking Minuette was by his side, he bolted for the exit. He's in a rush to start training, anyways, it's not that he's embarrassed... or, only a little bit. "Minuette? Oh, come on, where'd you go?" He called out once he skidded to a stop, and noticed his Pokemon had left him. 

Thankfully, not even two seconds later did he hear its cry, and it flew over to him with a bright smile. He sighed, "there you are. Stay by my side or I'm keeping you in the pokeball, alright?" He warned, as if the Pokemon could understand him, it's smile faltered a little and it gave a nod. It surprised him a little, but he brushed it off and turned around. Looks like he won't be able to travel on Willow, he doesn't want a repeat of last time. Walking it is, then. It's still early morning, the sun is shining bright in the sky, he has plenty of time to spare, so he takes the long way. He'll even walk through the tall grass a bit.

What's the worst that could happen?

At first, the Pokemon he encountered were a little low-leveled and too easy to pick off. He supposes they were still worth battling, and so he defeated some of them with Sparky his Jolteon, Static and Minuette, switching between the duo depending on the opponent. He'd never say it to it's face, but Static isn't the strongest, it's known as the "baby Pokemon" for a good reason, the moves it learns aren't that great except for power-up-punch, which is an egg move, and belch; which is powerful, but strangely enough only works if the user has previously consumed a berry, and he's running low. All in all, it can't sustain that many attacks, either, and it's agonisingly slow. Anyone else would regret choosing it as their starter Pokemon, and sure it can be annoying at times, but Tommy loves it whole-heartedly, and soon enough one day, it'll evolve and destroy anyone who doubted it.

On the other hand, Minuette acted almost afraid of seriously hurting the wild Pokemon. To the point where it'd even attempt to stop any ongoing fights, which made training extremely difficult. He'd assumed all Pokemon fought, that it's in their nature to battle each other. Every Pokemon he's ever encountered has been that way, and no one has said anything about a Pokemon choosing not to, and even going out of its way to prevent such things. 

It immensely confused Tommy, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. He couldn't return Minuette to it's pokeball, so their training had to come to a temporarily standstill. He moved out of the tall grass, needing to do something, but the only idea he had was...

"Minuette, what are you doing? Do you not like the Pokemon fighting each other?" He asked, as if expecting to receive a proper answer. It shook its head, answering any suspicions he had. Now, they had a problem.

Tommy leaned against a tree, running a hand through his hair. "Oh... well then... that's a problem," he said, and Minuette appeared puzzled, moving closer. "Look, Minuette, all Pokemon battle each other. I mean, I _thought_ all Pokemon did, but the majority do. It's how they, well you, become stronger and even evolve. I need to prepare my team, my Pokemon for our upcoming battle, that we have to win, so we're just training with wild Pokemon..." he tried explaining as best as he could, to a Pokemon. Unfortunately, Minuette looked even more confused than before.

Tommy turned to his two other Pokemon for answers, raising his shoulders. They tilted their heads at him, and he opened his mouth to speak, but rustling in the tall grass distracted him. He shifted his gaze just in time to catch a wild Zigzagoon launch itself at him, straight over his Jolteon and Toxel. It would have directly attacked him if Minuette didn't step in and use leaf storm, taking the Zigzagoon out instantly and tossing it aside. Its power shocked Tommy.

"M-Minuette!" 

The Pokemon turned its head and stared blankly at him, then tilted its head and looked him up and down, circling him to check for any injuries, even though the Zigzagoon hadn't even laid a paw on him. He looked to Sparky and Static, who were equally as shocked. He looked back to Minuette and cleared his throat. "Uh... thank you, a lot, I didn't know how powerful you are. But... would it be okay if we went back to training?" 

Minuette appeared to think on it for a moment, then floated down to his belt full of pokeballs. Tommy took out the one belonging to it, and sent Minuette back inside. He assumed that meant yes... but what a strange Pokemon Minuette is, he'd have to check up on Ranboo soon to see if he had any updates. 

He resumed training, staying in Route 3 for a couple more minutes before moving along into the Galar Mine, where he switched between his whole team, except for Minuette, each fight. 

He recalled encountering the strange man in a suit around here yesterday, he had a whole pile of wishing stars he'd likely collected from here. That gave Tommy an idea, if he was just here yesterday, then that means there should be some left, right? Although he had so many of them, there's a chance he could have taken them all. What would he even need that many for? To sell them to trainers? He didn't really care, he just needed to know if there was still one left. That's all he needs, and then he can dynamax, too. 

So he temporarily paused their training as soon as Pyro, his Quilava landed the finishing blow on a Roggenrola. "Hey, Pyro, do you mind helping me out? I need to find a wishing star, they look like uh, little... purple-ish rocks, I think, with spikey ends and all that," he requested, but Pyro seemed puzzled by his description. Well, he tried. "Fine, I'll find one myself," he muttered, turning away he got to work, searching the area for one.

Not even a minute later did he hear his Quilava call out to him, and he rushed to the scene. "What'd you find, bud?!" He exclaimed, speeding around the corner only for his smile to droop. "Pyro, that's not a wishing star, that's a Rolycoly! It's not even purple, are you colour-blind?!" He argued, watching Pyro chase it away. 

He crossed his arms and shook his head, sighing, "how am I supposed to find a single rock in a mine?!" He complained. He pulled out his rotom phone, which flew up and floated in front of his face, showing the time. He's already spent nearly an hour and twenty minutes training, and he hasn't even reached Turffield yet. He can't waste precious time looking around for some special rock when he isn't even sure if there is one. 

He pondered on it for a couple of seconds, before making his decision. "Pyro, come back! We're heading out!" 

'Next time', he tells himself, mentally taking note of this location. Pyro returns to his side, and they leave the mine, continuing onto Route 4 to battle more Pokemon and shortly arriving at Turffield. There, they take a fifteen minute break. Asides from the Stadium, a Pokemon Center, the Pokemart and a few stones with something strange written on each of them that supposedly links to a puzzle, and the famous geoglyth engraved into a lush hill, there's not much. So they don't stay for long, and continue onto Route 5. 

They spend roughly twenty or so minutes battling, and then reach the bridge overlooking the wild area. Peering over the edge, he's in awe at all the powerful Pokemon freely wandering around, the place is a dangerzone. A large majority of the Pokemon residing in this upper area are far too strong for him to face right now, he'll be taken down in one hit. The Pokemon are so cool, though, that he can't wait until he can properly encounter them. He might not catch them, however, he already has a full team and any Pokemon he does catch are sent straight to a digital box which although he can access at any time and retrieve the Pokemon inside, he'd rather not abandon any Pokemon in the digital world. 

At the end of the bridge and a little further, there lies Hulburry. With the right side of it leading out into the ocean, it's a great fishing spot and plenty of boats dock there. It makes sense for it to be a water type Gym instead of fire, and it had been, the previous Gym Leader being a man named Vikk, or sometimes referred to as Vikkstar for unknown reasons asides from being a title. He'd been Tommy's idol, you could say, one of the longest reigning Gym Leaders, Tommy considered having a full water type team because of him. Sadly, he chose, opening the position for Sapnap. 

Vikk remained in Galar up until a year ago, he decided to visit an old friend of his living in a far away region on the other side of the world who's also a Gym Leader, and has since moved there. It took some time, but Hulburry's Gym was changed into a Fire Type Gym, everything from the exterior to interior layout changed completely to suit Sapnap. Tommy wonders how Vikk's doing from time to time, if he'll ever consider returning to Galar, just as a normal citizen. 

"Beautiful, isn't it?" An unexpected voice breaks Tommy out of his thoughts, he's still on the bridge and a short distance away, peering over the edge and admiring the view is none other than Sapnap. Minuette hides behind his head, whereas Pyro stays seated by his feet, copying Tommy's expression and staring at the Gym Leader with wides eyes. They're both speechless. 

"U-uh," Tommy struggles to get a word out, nervously averting his attention to the wild area. "What are you, I mean, aren't you supposed to be dealing with trainers?" He asks, catching a glimpse of the Gym Leader from the corner of his eye, before turning his head to face him. It's obvious he used to rank higher up, and that he's a fighting type specialist. Although all Gym Leaders train hard to maintain their strength no matter where they rank, Sapnap's the strongest physically. At age nineteen, he's been a Gym Leader for just over six years, joining at age thirteen. Not too much is known about him, other than he comes from a long line of Gym Leaders, hence his reason for becoming one at such a young age. 

"I'm on break, there's a lot more than last year, that's for sure," Sapnap replied, taking a step back he faced Tommy, who instantly fell breathless. "You're going to challenge me next, right?" Tommy didn't get the chance to answer, "you're Wilbur's brother, which means you're also Techno's brother and the son of the former Champion." 

Oh.

This is exactly what he wanted to avoid. He knew he'd quickly become the center of attention if people knew his family, and while he does plan on stealing the title from Techno, he doesn't want to be compared to him, or Phil, or Wilbur. Everyone will have high expectations of him, and that's utterly different from having the crowd cheering your name. 

Phil's words rang through his head.

His eyes downcast, he balled his hands into tight fists. They opened as he let out a shaky breath, "I'm sorry," he started in a low voice, he tilted his head to look Sapnap in the eyes, "you must have the wrong person." 

Sapnap didn't even bat an eye, nor did his face change in the slightest as he turned away, looking back towards the open fields. For a few seconds, there'd been nothing but silence. 

"Well," Sapnap said, scratching the back of his head. "That's enough break time for me, I'm gonna head back." He turned away from Tommy, crossing his hands behind his head and took a couple of steps forward, but then he stopped, and glanced at Tommy over his shoulder, a cheeky smile crossing his lips. "And I'll be expecting you, Tommyinnit."

He didn't say anything else, Tommy watched him walk away in silence, unsure of how to feel. Minuette floated by his side, appearing concerned it tried talking to him, but he couldn't understand. "I'm alright," he answered in a quiet voice, lifting his head to look at Minuette, with a smile on his face and yet a sad look to it. He reached out his hand and Minuette jumped back, but allowed him to softly pet it's head between it's antennas. "I'll let you sit out on this one."

At long last, he made it to Hulburry. The fresh sea air filled his nostrils, and he looked up to see a flock of Wingull flying over his head. It's quite literally a town suited for water Pokemon and water activities, the only thing its missing is a beach. A fire type specialist doesn't fit here at all, but somehow, over the course of six years Sapnap's made it work. He can see the Stadium from where he is, it's colour scheme is honestly a little out of place with it's bright red contrasted to soft blues and whites. He can hear the roaring crowd and deafening music. There are times where battles could go on to the late hours of the night, crossing into the early hours of the morning and the music is still blaring. Its bound to keep people awake. He's thankful Postwick is so small, and peaceful. 

He pulled out his Rotom phone, and it floated in front of him. "Call Tubbo," he said, and it followed his orders, dialing Tubbo's number and he waited for an answer. There's a chance he still might be battling trainers, as like Sapnap noted, there's more challengers than last year, it just gets more chaotic every year as Techno continues to reign surpreme, patiently sitting upon his throne for the perfect challenger to arrive at his feet and request a duel. 

He waits, and he waits, but the call doesn't go through. 

Instead of calling again, he shakes his head and tells the phone to turn off, and it drops into his hand. He slips it into his pocket, and takes a gander at his lovely surroundings. The town is also well known for its seafood, Wilbur comes here often and has recommended their restaurant quite a few times. He can't quite remember the name of it. 

As he looks around for it, Minuette laying on its stomach on his head, he spots someone familiar and has to do a double-take. He squints just to make sure, "is that... the Chairman?" He mutters. 

Standing in the open is none other than Mr. Schlatt himself, the famous Chairman himself who is in charge of practically everything, the Gym Leaders, the Champion Cup and everything having to do with those two things. He isn't alone, there's the familiar man Tommy came across in the mine yesterday, and now he recognizes where he's from; he's Schlatt's secretary, Quackity. There's a third person that Tommy knows, but is the most stunned to see.

It's the same boy who taunted him before his match with Tubbo, the one with distinctive bright purple eyes and matching hoodie. At first, Tommy assumes he's just a fan, but he's not acting that way at all, from what Tommy can see he's still acting like his usual, annoying and cocky self, he's having a full-on conversation with Schlatt and Quackity. About what exactly, Tommy doesn't have the faintest clue, but he can't tear his eyes away. He wants to get closer and eavesdrop, the curiosity's getting the best of him. What's that brat doing talking with the most important man in the region? 

He starts approaching the trio, when a sudden, loud ringing and vibration against his leg snaps him out of it. The Rotom phone jolts out of his pocket and displays a bright screen; "TUBBO is calling!" 

His hands jump to the phone and he fumbles with it in his hand, so urgent to answer the call that he accidentally presses decline. He curses outloud, most definitely catching more than a few weird looks but he isn't too concerned. "Come on, come on! Call him back, now!" He demands, leaving it up to the Rotom controlling the phone or he'd press the wrong thing again. It takes far too long to start dialing, and he ushers it to hurry, "come on! Stupid thing!" He whines, not sure himself why he's in such a panic. 

Finally, it starts ringing, and ringing, and it goes on for around ten full seconds with no answer. Impossible, Tubbo literally just called him, there's no reason why he can't pick up. Unless it'd been in between matches, and he ran out of time. Then why call in the first place? Dammit. 

He groans, sliding his hand down his face and the Rotom phone falls, and he catches it just in time. He narrows his eyes at the idiotic device and grumbles under his breath as he slides it pack into his pocket. "Stupid thing, can't do one stupid thing," he mumbles, forgetting there's an actual Rotom sitting inside his device. 

He raises his head and sees that the Chairman, his secretary and that annoying boy are gone. He can't see them anywhere, and there's no telling where they went. Oh well, it doesn't matter that much. It was still a little strange to see them all together, and he can't help but wonder what they were discussing. He has other things to worry about, for example his upcoming Gym Battle.

But is he ready? He's been training for the past... over two hours, but that doesn't mean he's prepared. He could walk into there all confident, and have his whole team swooped within a matter of minutes. There's no telling what could happen, while Sapnap's been dropped down to the second position, and he's meant to go somewhat easy on the trainers, he still maintains the ruthlessness and merciless nature he had as the third Gym Leader, out of eight. He's no easy target. Without a doubt, this is going to be a lot harder than Tubbo's match.

His hands balled into fist, he takes in a deep breath, holds it in for a second or two, and exhales. He takes out Minuette's pokeball and holds it up to the Pokemon, "sorry, Minuette, you're sitting this one out," he apologizes, and returns it. Tucking the pokeball safely back into his belt and securing it around his waist, he sets his sight on the stadium.

By the time he's close enough, he can see somebody waiting by the entrance. It's not a referee, it's... "you're kidding," the same boy from just minutes ago. So that's where he wandered off to, about to get his second badge. Tommy doesn't make a sound as he approaches, and yet he's still noticed. He freezes as the purple-eyed meets his gaze, and it's not a nice one. 

He huffs, lips pursed into a thin line he slightly raises a brow and shoving his hands into his pockets, faces Tommy. "Huh, I'm surprised you made it," he comments, already having Tommy grind his teeth and glare. "Let me guess, did your _friend_ go easy on you?"

Just what is this guy's deal, does he act this way towards everyone?

"I won fair and square thank you very much," Tommy snaps, shoulders raised he crinkles his nose.

The boy doesn't appear convinced. Directly blocking the Stadium's entrance, he wears a blank, unreadable stare as he casually moves out of the way. "Show me, then," he retorted, gesturing to the door. 

Tommy is left flabbergasted, stumbling on his words he shakes his head and cuts himself off. His glare returning to his face, the boy's unfazed and visibly unimpressed. He tilts his head, looking bored. "What, you too scared? Acting like a Torchic, now, are we?" He taunted, referring to it's cowardice nature.

Tommy glared, resisting the urge to argue back, he walked past him, entering the Stadium, "I'll show you."

The door opened, but the moment he stepped foot inside, "good luck." 

He came to a halt, already inside the building with the door closed behind him. 


End file.
